Migrant boats carry 114 refugees all the way to British soil
(No, not Dover ... but an RAF base in Cyprus)
MORE than 100 migrants landed by boat at a British military base on Cyprus yesterday, provoking a diplomatic row over which country should take responsibility for them.
Two boats carrying 114 people, including 19 women and 28 children, sparked a security alert as they came ashore at dawn at the RAF base used to launch air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq.
Last night it was not known if the group, who are thought to be the first Syrians escaping the conflict to arrive directly on British soil, had intended to get to RAF Akrotiri, which was built when the island was still a UK colony.
Their arrival comes 17 years after a boatload of Iraqi and Syrian Kurds came ashore at the base, leading to a drawn-out dispute that has left 21 still stuck today in legal limbo on a neighbouring military base.
British and Cypriot authorities were last night in talks over what should happen to the new group, whose boats were spotted off the coast by a fisherman at around 6.30am yesterday.
The British Government ruled out letting them come to the UK because of fears it would turn the base, which lies 60 miles west of Syria, into a magnet for refugees.
Despite its proximity to Syria, fewer than 3,000 refugees have reached Cyprus. It is seen as a less attractive destination because it is an island not connected to mainland Europe and is not a member of the EU’s Schengen passport-free travel zone.
There is also the security issue as the base is home to eight Tornado jets involved in the fight against IS. A source on the island told Sky News: ‘ What if the landing had been of a smaller scale and by members of IS, seeking to attack?’
Before Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain to take responsibility for any asylum seekers who might enter the bases through Cypriot territory. However, as the migrants arrived directly at the base it is not known if they will be covered by the agreement.
Last night, a source said it was expected Cyprus would provide shelter for the migrants in a temporary refugee camp but that Britain would foot the bill.
The group was yesterday taken to a hangar on the RAF base, where they were being looked after. Some claimed they had left Turkey three days ago and were trying to get to Greece. Others said they had paid smugglers $4,000 (£2,585) each to make the journey in the 40ft wooden boats, but were abandoned.
A woman who gave her name as Jana said she was seven months pregnant. ‘ I want to go to Europe,’ said the 26-year-old. ‘I want to leave here.’
Ali Nowfal, 23, added: ‘We are escaping the war and the terrible situation in Syria. I am with two friends, aged 23 and 27. I have an uncle in London. I want to go there.’
The number of migrants who have claimed asylum in Europe so far this year has now passed three-quarters of a million.
Official figures released yesterday show that as of last month at least 750,210 main applicants and any dependants had applied for protection in the EU’s 28 member states.
‘I want to go to London’