A protest by the civil society group, the Movement Against Foreclosures, took place on Ledra and Onosagorou streets in Nicosia’s old town on Saturday morning, following an increase in withdrawals from Co-op banks on Friday.

A protest by the civil society group, the Movement Against Foreclosures, was taking place on Ledra and Onosagorou streets in Nicosia’s old town on Saturday morning, following an increase in withdrawals from the Co-op banks on Friday.

Demonstrators marched down Ledra Street, shouting: “Hands off our houses.”

The protest, supported by the Ctizens’ Alliance, Edek and the Green parties, follows the recent Co-op sell-off to Hellenic bank and statements on Thursday suggesting if the deal did not go ahead the Co-op could be liquidated, prompting queues at the bank as customers withdraw money.

“The comments about the remote, theoretical probability of the liquidation of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank were made to stress the most extreme negative consequences if the transfer of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank to Hellenic Bank is not completed, a solution which under the circumstances constitutes the only alternative,” a central bank spokesperson said on Friday, in an attempt to allay fears.

It was reported that 70 million euros had been withdrawn by lunchtime on Friday.

“Unfortunately, Anastasiades’ government, irresponsibly and catastrophically, brought things, yet again, to a tragic impasse,” said the Citizens’ Alliance in support of the Movement Against Foreclosure’s demonstration in a statement.

The party said that the Co-op bank is state-owned and its sale equals to the sale of state-owned property.

Edek also issued a statement of support for the protest and criticised the central bank’s comments on Friday,

“Unfortunately, the Central Bank of Cyprus, instead of protecting the Co-operative Bank and most of all the depositors through its actions, has through rash actions and statements created an additional problem, if one takes into account the withdrawal of approximately over 70 million euros from the Cooperative Bank.”

The Solidarity Movement was equaling scathing.

“Those governing have the full blame, and even if the story is changing, in the eyes of the people they are believed to be guilty,” a party statement said.