Cyprus suspends Syrian asylum applications

Cyprus will no longer process asylum applications by those arriving from Syria, President Nikos Christodoulides announced, as a large number of people from the war-torn country continue to flee to the island nation.

"On account of the latest mass arrival of Syrian political asylum seekers by sea, processing of applications from persons of Syrian origin has been suspended," Christodoulides said in a post on social media platform X. 

He did not specify how long the suspension will remain in place.

The Cypriot government said the suspension is also partly because of ongoing efforts to get the European Union to redesignate some areas of the war-torn country as safe zones to enable repatriations.

People arriving from Syria will have to remain in the overflowing reception camps for as long as new arrangements are made, DPA reported on Sunday citing government sources.

Overflowing refugees

The decision comes days after President Christodoulides visited Lebanon to appeal to authorities to stop departures of migrant-laden boats from their shores.

Lebanon, which is coping with a crippling economic crisis since 2019, hosts some 805,000 UN-registered Syrian refugees, many of whom have escaped the civil war in Syria which has entered its 14th year. According to UN's refugee agency, 90% of these live in poverty.

Lebanese officials estimate the actual number is far higher, ranging between 1.5 and 2 million.

A growing number of these refugees are now aiming for Cyprus.

More than 4,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Cyprus since the beginning of this year, compared to only 78 in the first quarter of 2023.

Based on the size of its population, Cyprus takes in by far the largest share of migrants in the European Union.

mk/rc (AP, DPA)