Police in Cyprus arrested 33 people after a fight broke out between two ethnic groups at the island's main refugee reception center just outside the capital Nicosia on Monday evening (November 6).

Clashes erupted between dozens of mainly Syrians and nationals from different African countries, prompting the Pournara migrant center to call in riot police. Officers used tear gas against the migrants as part of efforts to control the outbreak, the official Cyprus News Agency reported.

Eight migrants were slightly injured during the clashes and taken to hospital to receive first aid before being released, French news agency AFP reported, citing local police, who added that the outbreak has now been brought under control.

Cyprus has since ordered the deportation of any asylum seeker found to be responsible for the outbreak of violence, AFP reported, citing the interior ministry

Reception camp doubles capacity

Police noted that the extent of damage to the property at Pournara has yet to be officially estimated, adding that the motivation behind the fighting was also still being investigated. 

The Cypriot government recently doubled the 1,000 capacity of Pournara after an arrival of over 500 Syrian migrants from Lebanon following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

Cyprus, situated on the busy eastern Mediterranean migrant route, already has one of the highest rates of first-time asylum seekers in the European Union (EU).

Crowded living conditions, limited resources and undefined waiting periods for asylum status confirmation fuel frustrations. According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), there are 26,995 asylum seekers whose applications are pending in Cyprus.

In October last year, migrants at Pournara even had to flee the camp due to riots.

Asylum seekers make up 6% of the population's 915,000 in the government-controlled south of the island (the northern third of the island is controlled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey), according to state figures.

Increase in anti-migrant sentiments

In late August, Cyprus police arrested 21 people following clashes between anti-migrant activists and asylum seekers in the west of the island in the town of Chloraka, about 155 kilometers west of the capital Nicosia.

Cyprus had seen an increase in the arrival of migrants without the correct papers and people seeking asylum in recent years.

However, recent data from Eurostat shows that in May, 2023, the number of first-time asylum seekers in Cyprus actually dropped to well below half that of May 2022, in contrast to the overall trend in the EU which saw a 27% increase in the same time frame. 

Cyprus also returns a relatively large number of asylum seekers. In 2022, it carried out around 7,000 returns, the most in relation to population of any EU country.

Most people seeking asylum in Cyprus are Syrians and Afghans, followed by Venezuelans and Colombians.

There has been tension in the community in Chloraka for several years over what some locals believe is a disproportionately high number of asylum seekers or recognized refugees settled there.

With AFP