https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-won-t-sign-pact-if-eu-doesn-t-budge
A letter to the Home Affairs commissioner sent by the MED5 ministers warns Brussels that front line states won’t sign the new pact on migration and asylum unless their demand for a 'balanced' agreement is met...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-puts-foot-down-on-migration
The Republic of Cyprus is adding pressure on a pending agreement over an EU migration pact, with three proposals backed by MED5 countries aimed at airing their grievances against the bloc, a union that is going through a power struggle...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-mom-with-newborn-beats-pushback-in-cyprus
A pregnant woman who reached Cyprus on a refugee boat last month has given birth to a boy, while the rest of her family and other passengers who were pushed back to Lebanon were said to be facing deportation to Syria...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-seekers-stuck-in-cyprus-buffer-zone
Cypriot Interior Minister Nikos Nouris says the ordeal of three Cameroonians currently stuck in the buffer zone could end if EU fellow members agreed to take them in, with reports saying the bloc is still looking for consensus on migration policy but nothing has been agreed to date...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/marine-patrol-chased-out-of-northern-waters
A Greek Cypriot police vessel was chased out of an area north of Tylliria, with reports saying shots were fired before an encounter with a Turkish coast guard vessel came to an end, while a Turkish Cypriot statement denies such an incident ever took place...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/another-refugee-boat-pushed-back-in-cyprus
A boat carrying 58 presumptive refugees including women and children was pushed back by Cypriot authorities, after a standstill ended when marine police received instructions from land to escort the vessel back to Lebanon...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-turns-refugee-boat-back-to-lebanon
Dozens of refugees who were on board a vessel spotted off Cyprus on Sunday returned to their point of departure in Lebanon, contradicting earlier reports that the boat had been escorted to Cape Greco...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-reach-cyprus-by-boat
Dozens of newly arrived refugees from Syria in a wooden boat made it to Cyprus, just days after Lebanese police said they blocked over 50 undocumented Syrians from attempting to each the island...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/two-menoyia-escapees-apprehended
Two escapees facing deportation at Menoyia Immigration Detention Center were apprehended by police on Monday over a dozen miles away, following a large-scale operation including air support...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/four-arrested-on-human-smuggling-charges
Cypriot police have arrested four individuals on human smuggling charges after a number of people including a woman and two children were apprehended in the buffer zone during an attempt to cross from north to south...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-escorted-to-cape-greco
A total of 75 undocumented migrants from Syria reached the Republic of Cyprus on Monday, after a Cypriot coast guard vessel escorted their wooden boat to Cape Greco...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/damning-state-dep-report-highlights-cyprus-human-rights-issues
A US State Department country report on human rights practices in 2020 proved damning for Cyprus which was found to have had significant human rights issues last year....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/fence-wars-break-out-near-buffer-zone
Opposing camps have been making headlines recently over a controversial barbwire fence near the buffer zone, with one group cutting a piece of barbed wire and the other restoring it, with all caught on tape...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/minister-points-finger-at-north-over-barbwire
Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has fired back at critics in the north over the south’s decision to install barbwire near the UN buffer zone to halt illegal crossings, blaming the need for a fence on lack of action on the part of Turkish Cypriot authorities...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-begins-sealing-porous-frontier
The Republic of Cyprus says a barbwire fence currently being set up along a strip adjacent to the UN buffer zone should not be seen as a border between north and south but a way to hold back undocumented migrants...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-seekers-at-pournara-breach-gate
A group of asylum seekers at Nicosia’s Pournara camp got a brief taste of freedom on Wednesday, after residents breached the front gate during a protest against long-term detention at the migration facility...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/violent-brawl-breaks-out-at-pournara
A large-scale violent confrontation between groups of asylum seekers erupted at Pournara camp on Monday night, with police calling for backup and two dozen ending up in the Emergency Room...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/coast-guard-tows-refugee-boat-to-safety
A boat with Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus around midnight, with coast guard officials allowing women and children to spend the night at the marina while COVID-19 tests have been ordered on all 55 persons...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/two-arrested-after-syrian-refugees-reach-shore
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling after over a dozen presumptive refugees from Syria reached Cypriot shores late Tuesday night, while there was still concern over overcrowding concerns at a migrant camp outside the capital...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-held-at-police-station
Newly-arrived presumptive refugees were on standby this week, after reports said they were taken to a police station in Famagusta district due to overcrowding conditions at a migrant reception centre in rural Nicosia...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/another-refugee-boat-intercepted-off-cyprus
Syrian refugees on a boat that was blocked from disembarking were eventually on their way to Pournara migrant camp after reaching shore Wednesday morning, with one child hospitalized for unspecified reasons...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/echr-asks-cyprus-to-explain-boat-incidents
The European Court of Human Rights has asked the government of the Republic of Cyprus to answer questions concerning recent refoulement of undocumented travelers at sea, in response to a request of an interim measure from a local attorney handling another case...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-defends-blocking-migrant-boats
A police task force from the Republic of Cyprus is hoping to hash out a plan with Lebanese authorities to deter “economic migrants” from traveling to the island, as government and state officials rush to respond to criticism over a decision to send back undocumented migrants to the neighbouring country...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/urgent-meeting-after-weekend-refugee-arrivals
Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has called for an emergency meeting following a number of arrivals of undocumented migrants over the weekend, with some of them transported back to Lebanon and others facing the prospect of crowding into an already maxed-out facility...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-reach-cypriot-soil
About 40 Syrian refugees arrived in the Republic of Cyprus on Friday, including women and children on the way to a migrant facility in rural Nicosia...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/refugees-come-to-standstill-off-cape-greco
Fifteen Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus late Wednesday night, while reports say coast guard officers are in talks with another boat off Cape Greco in an effort to turn ten others back to their country of departure...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/health-ministry-decree-targets-asylum-seekers
The health ministry has issued a new decree requiring all asylum seekers who are ordered to stay in migrant camps to be tested for COVID-19 before checking in...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/syrian-refugees-detained-in-the-north
Two undocumented migrants were injured in the north after being shot by police officers who attempted to detain them after a total of thirty Syrian refugees arrived at a beach Thursday early morning...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-blocks-another-boat-due-to-coronavirus
A video showing a Republic of Cyprus coast guard vessel pursuing a boat of undocumented migrants has emerged, with police saying they blocked the boat due to the coronavirus crisis...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greece-to-make-massive-purchase-for-riot-police-equipment
Greece is planning purchases worth millions of euros to equip the Hellenic Police’s (ELAS) riot force with shields, helmets, uniforms, bullet-proof vests and other supplies, including large quantities of tear gas, in anticipation of a fresh push on the northeastern border with Turkey by undocumented migrants and refugees trying to force their way into the European Union....
