Amnesty alarmed over reports police threatening migrants with guns
Five boats with migrants heading to Cyprus appeared to be in distress on Wednesday, amid reports of coastguard pushbacks while children were sick on board.
Around 400 migrants appeared to be on the boats, with Amnesty International warning of dangerous conditions.
People have been at sea for days, with several sick and injured people, sources said.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said he had no comment. “We have taken some measures to deter the flows of migration…and we wait to see the results.”
He did not wish to respond to questions on whether he would class what was unfolding as a pushback.
“This is an operation for which I cannot comment on.”
Alarm Phone, which offers a hotline for refugees in distress in the Mediterranean, posted on X a day earlier that there were two boats in a convoy on their way to Cyprus.
“They have no food and water left. There is no fuel left and they cannot continue their journey.
“One group called us, saying that they were approached by a ship of the police. According to them, they were threatened with guns and told to go back to Syria.”
Alarm Phone added it later had contact with another two boats but was aware of five boats “trapped at sea between Cyprus and Lebanon”.
It claimed the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) was not helping while Lebanon’s authorities said “they will not accept any of the people and told us they should be returned to Syria.
“These people are trapped in a cruel and dangerous game between Cyprus and Lebanon and remain at sea with no food or water and in urgent need of help!”
The JRCC told the Cyprus Mail there was no operation in place at the moment to rescue any boats.
Watch The Med Alarm Phone was initiated in October 2014 by activist networks and civil society actors in Europe and Northern Africa. The project established a self-organised hotline for refugees in distress in the Mediterranean sea.
Police said it could not immediately comment on the situation, hinting at the latest “political decision” over migration.
“We are alarmed about reports of the dangerous conditions aboard two boats heading to Cyprus, carrying dozens of people, including children, at sea for days,” Amnesty EU said on Tuesday night.
“Several of those on board are sick, and they have now run out of food, water, and fuel.”
It called on Cyprus’ authorities to take immediate action and rescue the people at sea.
On Tuesday, police confirmed Cyprus would deploy coastguard patrol boats off the coast of Lebanon to intercept migrant boats.
On the same day, it said the two vessels, Alasia and Theseus had already intercepted the first boats which were sent back to Lebanon, for which Cyprus notified the authorities about.
The developments follow a mutual understanding reached with Lebanon last week.
Over the weekend Cyprus announced that it would also suspend asylum seeker applications for Syrian nationals, over which experts have sounded the alarm .