Cyprus will install an electronic surveillance system along the buffer zone that divides the island nation along ethnic lines, to stem a surge in illegal immigration through the breakaway north, the government said Tuesday..
Government spokesman Marios Pelekanos announced the plan following a meeting of police and defense officials, chaired by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, on dealing with migrant arrivals.
According to European Union statistics, the number of migrants crossing from the Turkish-Cypriot north to the internationally-recognized, Greek – Cypriot south through the buffer zone in January-April rose 184% over the same period last year.
Pelekanos said Cyprus expects the EU — of which the eastern Mediterranean island is a member — to follow through on a promise for financial and material help to cope with the arrivals. Cyprus and the EU signed a deal on the matter last month.
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He didn’t provide details on the surveillance system planned for later this year along the 180-kilometer (120-mile) buffer zone, which is patrolled by the United Nations. The majority of asylum-seekers travel to the breakaway north and then clandestinely cross to the south. Most come from Syria, India, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read more: AP
