The Cypriot coast guard, as reported by Germany's dpa news agency, said it assisted three different boats carrying migrants off the east coast of the island, according to Cyprus’ public broadcaster RIK on Monday (December 4).

Initially, it was reported that the people on board were from Syria and Lebanon and that the boats had set off from there. However, the Cyprus Mail later reported on Monday that at least one of the boats may have set off from the Libyan capital Tripoli.

All the migrants on board were registered and taken to Cyprus’ main migrant camp at Pournara in the southern part of the Republic. Three of the group of 252 were arrested on charges of suspected people smuggling, reported dpa.

Engine trouble

The first boat, carrying 97 migrants, was discovered by police around 3:20 pm on Saturday, about nine nautical miles from Cape Greco in the eastern part of the island.

The second ship, with 101 migrants on board, is thought to have arrived from Tripoli, Libya. It reportedly "sustained engine trouble" and was rescued about 17 miles off Cape Greco at around 1:40 am, reported the Cyprus Mail.

Another boat with 54 migrants on board was discovered earlier on Saturday, about seven nautical miles from shore.

Residents oppose building additional camps and reception facilities

The migrant camps in Cyprus are already over capacity. Cyprus is building more facilities with help from EU money, reported dpa. Cyprus has the greatest number of migrant arrivals in comparison to the size of its population of all EU states.

On Monday, the mayors from two of the Republic of Cyprus' municipalities wrote a joint letter to the government to express their opposition to the construction of buildings in their areas to house unaccompanied migrant children. They said they had received "dozens of letters from concerned residents" about the project proposal, reported the Cyprus Mail.

"We expect assurances or a withdrawal of the state’s intentions so that it can become possible to return to our normal lives," stated the letters from the two mayors.

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A long way from the rest of the bloc

Cyprus is divided into two parts: Only the southern part of the island is a member of the EU, whereas the northern part is Turkish-speaking and recognized only by Turkey. A green line marks the division between the two parts of the island. Migrants tend to arrive via visas through Turkey, crossing the green line to study, work, or seek asylum in the southern part.

However, many migrants do not realize that Cyprus is an island and although the southern part is part of the EU, leaving for other parts of the EU is relatively difficult as it is located in the south-eastern part of the Mediterranean and nearer the Middle East than many parts of Europe.

Waiting times for the processing of asylum claims are also fairly long in Cyprus, with some people reporting a wait of years rather than months.

Asylum and refugees

According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR's latest figures, between January and September 2023, more than 8,000 people arrived in the Republic of Cyprus to apply for asylum. At that time, almost 27,000 people were waiting for a decision on their already lodged asylum claims. In September 2023, just over 18,000 people were registered in receipt of protection in the Republic of Cyprus.

Almost 19,000 Ukrainians are currently residing in the Republic of Cyprus under the EU's temporary protection status, granted in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict.

In 2022, around 925 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in Cyprus, while from January to August 2023, only 171 unaccompanied minors had lodged asylum applications.

With dpa

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