Cyprus arrests 4 people suspected of smuggling migrants into country
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Cypriot authorities arrested on Monday four people suspected of smuggling, a day earlier, 271 illegal migrants, mostly Syrians, into the country in five boats coming from Lebanon.
The Cyprus News Agency stated that the first boat transported 21 individuals, consisting of 19 men and two women, while the second carried 179 people, including 109 men, 17 women, and 53 children, with 17 of them being unaccompanied. The third had 27 passengers, comprising 19 men, two women, and six children. The fourth boat accommodated 24 individuals, consisting of 12 men, two women, and six children. The fifth boat transported 20 people, including 11 men, nine women, and five children.
The journey from Lebanon commenced once weather conditions improved in recent days. The migrants disembarked at Cape Greco, southeastern Cyprus, where all necessary protocols were implemented.
In 2023, Cyprus documented a total of 10,991 migrant arrivals, representing a 37 percent decrease compared to 2022. However, official statistics reveal that the number of boat arrivals from Syria and Lebanon alone surpassed 4,259 in 2023, an increase of 355 percent compared to 2022, during which 937 asylum seekers from Syria and Lebanon arrived in Cyprus.
On March 11, the Cypriot authorities reported detecting a total of 458 asylum seekers on six boats off the coast of Cape Greco and transferred them to the Pournara reception center. The boats carried 258 men, 44 women, 123 children, and 33 unaccompanied minors.
The figures provided are consistent with statements from the Cypriot Ministry of Interior, which disclosed at the end of 2023 that Syrians constituted 53 percent of the arrivals in Cyprus throughout the year.