After around 270 people were brought to safety on Sunday, three boats have now been discovered east of Cyprus.
The Cypriot coast guard rescued around 150 migrants from three boats east of the island. The rescue operation took place in the sea off Cape Greco, the newspaper “Phileleftheros” reported, citing the authorities. More than 270 people who had set sail from Lebanon had already been rescued on Sunday.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulidis has therefore called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council for this Tuesday – according to the authorities, there should be information about increased use of the route from Lebanon to Cyprus.
The arrival of 272 migrants on Sunday was the second highest number of the year so far; on March 11, six boats arrived carrying 458 Syrian migrants. According to statistics from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 2,675 migrants have arrived in Cyprus since the beginning of the year, an average of around 30 people per day.
In terms of population size, according to EU statistics, Cyprus has by far received the most asylum applications per year in recent years compared to other EU countries.
Source: Stern
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