Cyprus suspends asylum requests from Syrians fleeing their war-torn country

ROMA – Overwhelmed by arriving migrants, the Cypriot president announced the suspension of Syrian asylum applications. Cyprus, therefore, will no longer process the applications of those arriving from Syria, President Nikos Christodoulides announced with a post on a social platform: the large number of people from the war-ravaged country who continue to flee to the island will not it’s more manageable. This is a novelty that alarms the various humanitarian organizations that develop reception projects.

Refugees will have to remain in overcrowded camps. President Christodoulides did not specify how long the suspension will remain in place. The Cypriot government said the suspension was also partly due to ongoing efforts to persuade the European Union to redesignate some areas of the war-torn country as safe zones to allow returns. People arriving from Syria will have to remain in overcrowded reception camps until new arrangements are made.

Departures from the Lebanese coasts. The decision comes days after President Christodoulides visited Lebanon to appeal to the authorities to stop the departures of boats full of migrants from their shores. Lebanon, which has been facing a crippling economic crisis since 2019, is home to around 805,000 UN-registered Syrian refugees, many of whom have fled Syria’s civil war now in its 14th year. According to the United Nations refugee agency, 90% of these live in poverty.

There are approximately 2 million refugees. Lebanese officials estimate the real number is much higher, between 1.5 and 2 million. A growing number of these refugees are now heading to Cyprus. More than 4,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Cyprus since the start of this year, compared to just 78 in the first quarter of 2023. Based on the size of its population, Cyprus welcomes by far the largest share of migrants in the European Union .