A violent assault in Gozo ended with police officers arresting the apparent victim while leaving his attackers behind, shocked bystanders said.

The incident happened on the lawn of the Victoria bus terminus at about 5.30pm on Monday.

Three witnesses told Times of Malta they saw a group of about six white men arguing loudly with a group of about four black men.

The larger gang then began to beat one of the black men, with one eyewitness saying a belt was used.

But when worried bystanders called the police, they were shocked to see them arrest the apparent victim and not those involved in the assault.

The police said the arrested man had been involved in a previous fight hours earlier.

Gemma McFarland watched the incident unfold when she heard loud voices as she was about to head into a shop with her mother.

“I could see that two or three of the black men were trying to stop their friend from scuffling but it kept escalating,” she said.

Another witness said that’s when she saw the white men gang up on the black man and start beating him.

A guy was hitting a black guy with a belt whilst he was on the floor

A third witness, Melanie, who asked for her surname to be withheld, said she saw a “guy hitting a black guy with a belt whilst he was on the floor”.

She said she called the police and was “flabbergasted” to see the victim being arrested.

“I tried to explain what had happened and was told they had him and had to go,” Melanie said.

The witnesses said they did not understand why the fight broke out and some said that men from both sides involved in the fight may have been drunk.

“Apparently, the bloke who was being beaten has been starting fights multiple times a day over multiple days and hitting people without provocation. So, yes, he probably should have been arrested,” Melanie said. “Still, I don’t think beating him with a belt should be a nothing thing,” she continued.

Witnesses queried why the other men were not arrested as well.

“I don’t understand why the police only arrested that one man,” some said.

The police told Times of Malta they were called on site “because there was a man threatening the people there”.

A spokesperson said that when officers arrived, they found the man was intoxicated, arrested him and “investigations are ongoing”.

The police said the man had been involved in an earlier altercation with another man at the same place that day.

On that occasion, both men had refused medical assistance and were informed that charges would be issued, the spokesperson said.

Last month, Times of Malta reported eyewitness accounts of a Somali man being beaten and thrown into the sea in Mġarr harbour to the sounds off cheers and whistling from a crowd of onlookers. One man has been charged in connection with that incident. A Nationalist MP excused the attack on a “rapid mixing of cultures” in Gozo but later removed the post and said it had been misinterpreted.