Lebanon hands over immigrants sailing to Cyprus to Syrian government
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The Lebanese navy handed over on Friday a boat carrying 24 Syrians who tried to reach Cyprus to Syrian navy forces.
The Lebanese navy said that the Cypriot coast guard chased the Syrian boat and prevented it from entering the territorial waters until it arrived yesterday morning off the coast of the Lebanese city of Akkar.
The boat set off a few days ago from one of the Syrian shores and was pursued by the Cypriot navy until it reached the Lebanese coast near Arida border, according to the Lebanese media outlets.
The Lebanese navy added that it handed over the boat to the Syrian navy as part of cooperation between the two countries.
Recently, the Cypriot government called on the European Union (EU) to help Cyprus address the unprecedented numbers of Syrian immigrants arriving from Lebanon as its reception facilities were overstrained. The EU allocated a 1 billion euro in aid for Lebanon to enhance border controls to stop flow of Syrian immigrants to Cyprus.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, over 300 Syrian refugees were recently deported to Syria amidst growing anti-refugee sentiments.