Syrian refugees land north, head south

Another boatload of Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus on Sunday, with 34 asylum seekers reaching dry land in the north and crossing over to the south.

According to Kathimerini Cyprus, there were 26 males, two women and six children on board the vessel, which was spotted by Cyprus Coast Guard in the south around 7:30am as they saw it land on a northern shore in Morphou (Guzelyurt).

The refugees then walked towards the south where they crossed over into the south and received by Republic of Cyprus officials. They were then transported to Kokkinotrimithia at the local reception centre.

The arrival of the latest numbers of Syrian refugees is part of a trend that has been reported recently, as boats with presumptive asylum seekers arrive either in the north or south and end up filing for asylum with the Republic.

Nicosia launched a campaign recently with diplomatic steps in the wake of what it describes as an “increasing trend” of refugee arrivals, saying that Cyprus is at the top among EU member states in terms of number of arrivals in proportion to the local population.