The Cypriot government has appealed to the EU to help the island cope with a record influx of Syrian migrants from Lebanon, Cypriot media reported.
Ahead of a visit to Beirut to discuss the emergency situation on Monday, Cyprus’ interior minister asked for Brussels’ support, saying the country’s reception centres were at capacity. Constantinos Ioannou told local media:
“This is a cry for help. There has been a very sharp increase [in flows]. We are in crisis mode, reaching our limits.”
Last week, 15 boats carrying 800 people made the 10-hour journey from Lebanon, leaving Cyprus in what its president Nikos Christodoulides described as “a state of serious crisis”. Ioannou said:
“Most of those 800 were young males. But they also included nearly 100 unaccompanied children for whom we had to immediately provide guardianship. We strongly believe [Lebanon] should be financially assisted by the EU.”
He added that an aid package similar to the €7.4bn (£6.4bn) pact struck between the EU and Egypt last month – also in exchange for stopping the flows – should be discussed.
Although the idea is “gaining momentum” in the 27-member bloc, Ioannou said it was still a long way off.
Christodoulides will press his case when he holds talks with EU President Ursula von der Leyen in Athens on Sunday before travelling to Beirut with his interior and foreign ministers.
The EU Commission put its signature on the agreement with Cairo despite fierce criticism from human rights groups.
The increase in arrivals comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Increased fighting on the Lebanese-Israeli border has shifted the focus of Lebanese authorities away from fighting illegal migration and heightened fears of a wider conflagration.
According to Cyprus’ interior ministry, more than 2,000 people crossed the 100-mile sea route from Syria in the first three months of this year, compared with 78 in the same period last year.
The eastern Mediterranean outpost has long been a haven for people fleeing unrest in the region. Thousands of Israelis flocked to the island in the weeks after the 7 October Hamas attack, which triggered an Israeli retaliatory attack on Gaza.
Ioannou said that since the number of boats landing on the shore was not decreasing, the island’s leadership would discuss providing further technical assistance to combat the flow of illegal migrants during his visit to Lebanon on Monday.
Cyprus has become a hotspot for migrants since 2016, when the EU closed the Turkish bridgehead to the Greek islands.
The number of asylum claims on the island peaked in 2022 at 21,565, the highest since registration began in 2002.
In October 2023, 1,043 Syrians arrived in Cyprus by boat, three times as many as last year, while 795 arrived in November, again three times as many as in 2022.
Reuters reports that the time between Lebanon and Cyprus on a small fishing boat in calm seas is 18-20 hours.
