Refugees picked up along a Nicosia road

Over a dozen refugees were picked up Monday morning while walking along a rural area outside Nicosia, about nine kilometres west of the Kokkinotrimithia refugee camp.

According to CNA News Agency, fourteen men and a one child were spotted on foot around 6am walking along a road in Akaki, Nicosia district.

The presumptive refugees were taken to Peristerona Police Station where they were examined by Migration officials and then questioned by local police who were trying to ascertain their point of entry into Cyprus.

It was not immediately clear when and where the refugees first landed, but CNA reported that the individuals, described as people of Arab origins, were believed to have travelled to the Republic of Cyprus via the north part of the island.

The area where the refugees were apprehended was less than 10 kilometres away from Kokkinotrimithia refugee camp, a 2-hour travel time on foot.

The detention of asylum-seekers remains vague in Cyprus and throughout the European Union. EU states detain individuals on the basis of undocumented or illegal entry, while at the same time authorities have limited powers to detain them if they are ‘bona fide refugees’.

CNA reported that the individuals were expected to be taken to a safe area that houses refugees, while Nicosia district officials and Morphou police were still investigating the incident.