Cyprus suspends asylum processing for Syrians

Cyprus has suspended its processing of asylum applications for people of Syrian origin, Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides announced on Saturday.

Christodoulides in a post on X, said the decision had been taken in light of the “recent mass arrival of Syrian political asylum seekers by sea” to the island.

He said that “pending developments on the Syrian status reassessment issue” had also been taken into account in the government’s decision.

Christodoulides’ announcement comes on a day when 141 irregular migrants, 138 of whom are of Syrian origin, arrived on the island on two boats.

These arrivals come as good sailing weather allowed for over 800 irregular migrants to arrive on the island in the first few days of the month, while people have been arriving on the island in great number throughout the spring.

Not all attempted voyages to Cyprus ended safely, however, with numerous dead bodies having washed up on the island’s coasts since the start of the year.

Funerals were held for some of those washed up in the north. The bodies could not be identified, but the clothes on some of the dead bodies had been Syrian made, possibly giving indications as to their wearers’ origin.

As early as December, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou had raised concerns that as much as five per cent of Cyprus’ population may now be asylum seekers, while Christodoulides has been campaigning internationally for action to be taken to stem the flow of people.