Syrians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Nigerians and Cameroonian constitutes the highest numbers of asylum seekers defecting from North Cyprus to south Cyprus

A new report indicates that Syrians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Nigerians and Cameroonian constitutes the highest numbers of asylum seekers crossing from North Cyprus to south Cyprus.

This is made known by south Cyprus Interior Minister, Constantinos Petrides, in Brussels where he went to make Cyprus’ case on the influx of immigrants from a third country. 

Cyprus is seeking individual relocation agreements with EU countries as a way of dealing with the large influx of asylum seekers, many of them arriving via northern Cyprus.

According to the figures released by Cyprus Ministry of Interior, there has been a spike in migrant arrivals from the north of the island, either through the crossings or other points along the buffer zone.

In 2017, 138 third-country nationals arrived in the Republic through the north, the ministry says, compared with 2,625 in 2018 and 3,060 until June 2 of this year.

The minister said Turkey’s visa-free regime with many countries in Africa and Asia allowed migrants and asylum seekers to reach northern Cyprus without restrictions. 

He said that among those nationalities were Syrians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Nigerians and Cameroonian nationals whose numbers have shown a marked increase in 2019.