MIGRATION: Cyprus picks up 47 Syrian migrants who landed by boat

Cypriot authorities said Wednesday that 47 Syrian migrants were picked up on the island’s northwest tip after being dropped off by suspect people smugglers.

 It is believed the migrants arrived by boat from Turkey – in the Tyllirias region – just after midnight on Wednesday but there was no sign of the boat when officers arrived, police said.

A pregnant woman was among the migrants and she was taken to nearby Paphos hospital for medical checks.

The Syrians were taken to a reception centre in the capital Nicosia later on Wednesday.

Over the past 12 months there has been a steady trickle of Syrian migrants arriving in Cyprus from Turkey and Lebanon.

Cyprus has warned Brussels it has come under pressure from increased irregular migration flows recently ranking top in first-time asylum claims in relation to its population.

Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides said during the first 8 months of 2018, applications for international protection status were up by 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2017.

According to the Minister, during this period a total of 4,022 applications were filed in the Republic of Cyprus, compared to 2,600 claims in the first 8 months of 2017, after recording an increase of 56% in 2016.

Cyprus, a European Union member state located 100 miles (160 kilometres) from Syria’s Mediterranean coast, has not seen the massive inflow of migrants experienced by Turkey and Greece.

But recent EU data puts Cyprus top among the bloc’s 28 nations according to the number of asylum applications per capita.