Two boats carrying 140 migrants land at British RAF base on Cyprus

Two boats carrying an estimated 140 migrants, including children, have come ashore at a British military base in Cyprus, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. It is the first time that refugees have landed directly on what is considered British sovereign soil since the migration crisis began. Little is currently known about their journey to the base or their country of origin. It is being reported that the boats were spotted as they approached the Akrotiri base in the early hours of the morning, but were able to approach unchallenged.

We have not established where they are from yet.

A spokesman for RAF Akrotiri

Although Cyprus is considerably closer to Syria than Italy or Greece it has so far not seen a large influx of refugees. It is thought migrants have tended to avoid the island due to its relative geographical isolation. There is at least 150 miles of ocean between the base, on the southern coast of the island, and the Syrian shoreline. Due to an historic agreement whereby refugees who land at the British base are handed over to Cypriot authorities, it is unlikely they will be eligible to claim UK asylum, despite landing on what is considered British soil. RAF Akrotiri is one of two British sovereign territories in Cyprus, which was a colony until 1960. The huge military facility has been used to bomb Islamic State targets in northern Iraq since September 2014.

Europe Cyprus