UN refugee agency accuses Cyprus government of pushing asylum seekers into a UN buffer zone
4 months, 2 weeks ago

UN refugee agency accuses Cyprus government of pushing asylum seekers into a UN buffer zone

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. UNHCR spokeswoman Emilia Strovolidou said that as many as 99 asylum seekers were “pushed back” into the buffer zone between mid-May and Aug. 8. The asylum seekers entered the European Union member country from the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and crossed the buffer zone into the south where they could file their applications with the internationally recognized government. Cypriot authorities say the U.N. is mistaken when it speaks about pushbacks that specifically pertain to “expulsions at recognized sea or land borders.” In a written statement to AP, the ministry said migrants who cross the buffer zone arrive on the island’s north from Turkey — a safe country — and then cross southward along remote stretches of the porous buffer zone where there are no physical barriers preventing crossings. The ministry said given the “tremendous migratory pressures” Cyprus is under, the government has adopted a “principled stance” to avoid turning the buffer zone into a “route for irregular migration” while offering humanitarian assistance to stranded migrants.

Turkey Asylum Zone Authorities Buffer Cyprus Siddique Cypriot Strovolidou Cypriot Authorities  zone  buffer  migrants  cyprus  asylum  agency  cypriot  sign  authorities  breaking  seekers  pushing  accuses  refugee

History of this topic

Migrants in UN buffer zone limbo on divided Cyprus
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Migrants in UN buffer zone limbo on divided Cyprus

Hindustan Times  

Dozens of migrants are languishing in the searing heat of Cyprus's buffer zone, saying they were pushed into the no-man's land by police on the divided island's south. Migrants in UN buffer zone limbo on divided Cyprus The UN refugee agency on Friday said a total of 59 asylum seekers were living in the UN-patrolled buffer zone between the areas …

Cyprus president says a buffer zone splitting the island won’t become another migrant route
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Cyprus president says a buffer zone splitting the island won’t become another migrant route

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The president of Cyprus said Tuesday that he won’t “open another route” for irregular migration by letting through more than two dozen asylum-seekers now stranded in a U.N.-controlled buffer zone that bisects the war-divided island nation. But he said the 180-kilometer buffer zone “won’t become a new avenue for the passage of illegal migrants.” Turkey lets them …

Cyprus minister says a proposal to set up safe zones in Syria for refugees to return is advancing
9 months ago

Cyprus minister says a proposal to set up safe zones in Syria for refugees to return is advancing

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — A Cyprus government proposal to enable repatriations of Syrian refugees by designating specific areas within the country as safe zones is “gaining ground” among the island nation’s fellow European Union member states, the Cypriot interior minister said Friday. Minister Constantinos Ioannou said after talks with European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas that it’s the “conviction of several …

In ethnically split Cyprus, buffer zone tensions persist after decades, a UN official says
9 months, 2 weeks ago

In ethnically split Cyprus, buffer zone tensions persist after decades, a UN official says

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Decades on from the ethnic division of Cyprus, tensions persist along the 180-kilometer buffer zone separating breakaway Turkish Cypriots from Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognized south, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping force on the island said Monday. Colin Stewart told a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the force’s deployment that peacekeepers record “hundreds …

Cyprus calls on the EU to rethink Syrian safe zones for eventually repatriating Syrian migrants
1 year, 3 months ago

Cyprus calls on the EU to rethink Syrian safe zones for eventually repatriating Syrian migrants

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus has formally called on the European Union to re-evaluate which areas of Syria can be declared safe and free from armed conflict so that Syrian migrants can eventually be repatriated there, Cypriot authorities said Friday. Ethnically divided Cyprus, with a population of nearly a million in the southern, internationally recognized part where migrants seek asylum, says …

Turkish Cypriots attack UN peacekeepers trying to halt road work inside divided Cyprus’ buffer zone
1 year, 4 months ago

Turkish Cypriots attack UN peacekeepers trying to halt road work inside divided Cyprus’ buffer zone

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Angry Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews working on a road that would encroach on a U.N.-controlled buffer zone in ethnically divided Cyprus, the U.N. said Friday. It said the attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the village of Arsos, …

Cyprus streamlines migrant returns with EU help
2 years, 10 months ago

Cyprus streamlines migrant returns with EU help

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The European Union and it’s border agency Frontex have helped Cyprus streamline procedures to return migrants who have had their asylum applications rejected amid soaring numbers of arrivals, the country’s interior minister said Tuesday. Minister Nicos Nouris told reporters after talks with Beate Gminder, who heads the European Commission’s Migration Management Task Force, that Cyprus saw 1,335 …

Syrian refugees in Cyprus struggling to rebuild lives torn by war
2 years, 11 months ago

Syrian refugees in Cyprus struggling to rebuild lives torn by war

Al Jazeera  

Paphos, Cyprus – Mustafa*, his wife and their four children felt a sense of relief last summer as they entered a condominium overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean Sea. But in January, the Cypriot interior ministry implemented a decree that banned asylum seekers from moving to Chloraka, citing demographic changes and “social problems”. I’m not here to break laws.” Government decree Interior …

Vatican takes in 12 migrants as pope denounces indifference
3 years ago

Vatican takes in 12 migrants as pope denounces indifference

Associated Press  

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Pope Francis on Friday denounced the “culture of indifference” that the West shows migrants as the Vatican confirmed that at least a dozen asylum-seekers would be transferred from Cyprus to Italy in a gesture of solidarity with European countries that have received a disproportionate share of would-be refugees. The Vatican didn’t immediately respond when asked about the …

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