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Cyprus Suspends Syrian Asylum Applications as It Struggles with Arrivals Spike

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides looks on during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the Government Palace in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 08 April 2024. (EPA)
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides looks on during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the Government Palace in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 08 April 2024. (EPA)
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Cyprus Suspends Syrian Asylum Applications as It Struggles with Arrivals Spike

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides looks on during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the Government Palace in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 08 April 2024. (EPA)
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides looks on during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the Government Palace in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 08 April 2024. (EPA)

Cyprus has suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians following a sharp increase in irregular arrivals this month, authorities said on Sunday.

More than 1,000 people have arrived in Cyprus on boats from Lebanon since the start of April amid deepening tensions in the Middle East. It has triggered calls from Nicosia to its European Union partners to do more to assist Lebanon, as well as reconsider the status of war-torn Syria, which is at present considered unsafe to repatriate asylum seekers.

"This is an emergency measure, it's a difficult decision to protect the interests of Cyprus," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters.

Christodoulides and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later discussed the possibility of offering a reinforced package of economic aid to Lebanon, a Cypriot government spokesperson said in a statement. To this end it was agreed they would jointly visit Lebanon after a preparatory visit by Commission officials, the statement added.

Lebanon, in the throes of a deep financial crisis, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Cyprus, the EU's easternmost state and the closest to the Middle East, lies about 160 km (100 miles) west of the shores of Lebanon or Syria. It recorded more than 2,000 arrivals by sea in the first three months of this year, compared to just 78 over the same period in 2023.

In practice, suspending processing of applications means asylum seekers will be confined to two reception camps offering food and shelter and regulated exits, with no other benefit. Those who choose to leave those facilities will automatically forfeit any kind of benefit, and will not be allowed to work, government sources said. 

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Arab World

UN Force in Lebanon Says Peacekeepers Fired Upon ‘Likely by Non-State Armed Groups’

United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Force in Lebanon Says Peacekeepers Fired Upon ‘Likely by Non-State Armed Groups’

United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
United Nations peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) drive past a destroyed healthcare center building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese town of Burj Qalawiya on March 14, 2026. (AFP)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on Sunday, "likely by non-state armed groups" in the country's south.

The incident came two days after a different UN position was hit by fire that official Lebanese media blamed on Israel, with UNIFIL saying it was investigating.

"Today, UNIFIL peacekeepers were fired upon, likely by non-state armed groups, on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases" in south Lebanon, the force said in a statement.

In one of the locations, the fire struck "as close as five meters from the peacekeepers", it added.

"Two patrols returned fire in self-defense and after brief exchanges, the patrols resumed their planned activities. No peacekeeper was injured," the statement said.

"We strongly remind all actors of their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times."

Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on March 2, when the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah attacked Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel has since launched waves of air strikes on its northern neighbor and deployed troop into border areas, while Hezbollah has launched rockets and missiles towards Israeli territory and troops.

Lebanese state media said that Israeli fire hit a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon on Friday.

UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said the position was hit "likely by heavy machine gun fire", without identifying the source, and said an investigation had been launched into the incident, which left one peacekeeper lightly wounded.

Earlier this month, three peacekeepers serving with a Ghanaian contingent were wounded in south Lebanon, with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accusing Israel of being responsible and UNIFIL saying it would investigate.

On Saturday, during a visit to Beirut, UN chief Antonio Guterres said attacks against peacekeepers and their positions were "completely unacceptable and... may constitute war crimes".

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. Its mission concludes at the end of this year.

Arab World

WHO Releases $2 Million in Emergency Funds to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria

A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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WHO Releases $2 Million in Emergency Funds to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria

A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child poses for a photo, at a school hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Lebaa, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)

The World ‌Health Organization said on Sunday it had released $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amidst the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The conflict has triggered a large-scale population movement, the WHO ‌said last week, ‌estimating that more ‌than 100,000 ⁠people in Iran ⁠have relocated, and up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced.

$1 million has been allocated to Lebanon to strengthen the WHO's emergency coordination ⁠through the Public Health Emergency Operations ‌Center, scale ‌up trauma care, reinforce disease surveillance, ‌and procure and distribute essential ‌medicines and medical supplies, the agency said in a statement.

Iraq and Syria have each been allocated $500,000 to support emergency ‌coordination and mass-casualty management, procure and distribute essential medicines ⁠and ⁠supplies, provide health services for displaced populations, and strengthen disease surveillance and community outreach, it added.

"At a time when health services are already facing significant challenges, support is essential to sustain frontline health workers and maintain critical care services," Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean said.

Arab World

In Heavy Rain, Lebanese Fleeing War Huddle Under Makeshift Shelters

A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
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In Heavy Rain, Lebanese Fleeing War Huddle Under Makeshift Shelters

A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)
A man secures a tent at sunset at a public space where people displaced by Israeli airstrikes have set up tents along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP)

Hussein Murtada and his ‌family are camping in the back of a small truck, a flimsy tarpaulin shielding them from a storm on Sunday, with no room left at shelters for displaced people in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

"We are putting tarp over it because we're soaked," said Murtada, using string to fasten the plastic sheet over the back of the truck parked on the seafront. Inside, an infant peered out, surrounded by pillows, blankets and other possessions.

"I asked here at the schools and they are full, they're all full," said Murtada, who fled the town of Hanawiya, some 12 km (8 miles) ‌from the ‌border with Israel, with his family of seven.

"What ‌should ⁠I ask for? ⁠I just want a shelter for me and the children," Murtada added.

More than 800,000 people, around 15% of Lebanon's population, have had to flee their homes since Israel began an offensive in the country after the Lebanese Hezbollah group opened fire at Israel in support of its ally Iran on March 2.

It has dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict just 15 months ⁠since the last Israel-Hezbollah war.

Only a fraction of ‌the displaced - some 132,000 according to Lebanese ‌authorities - are in collective shelters. The rest are scattered elsewhere, some with relatives, others ‌in half-finished buildings or host communities and many in the streets.

Mohammad Marie, ‌who fled the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, has been sheltering under a tree on Beirut's seafront Corniche, protected by a plastic sheet before it was blown away.

"It might keep raining for a week, so where will I go? ‌I will stay here, what else can I do? I have no shelter except here, under this tree," ⁠Marie said, his ⁠clothes soaked through.

"I don't have a tent, I don't have anything, and my financial situation is very difficult. I have no money to rent a house," he said.

The United Nations launched a $308 million flash appeal on Friday to help Lebanon cope with the fallout of the war.

Israeli attacks have killed 850 people and wounded more than 2,100 others in Lebanon since March 2, including 107 children and 66 women, the Lebanese health ministry said on Sunday. Its toll does not say how many of the casualties were combatants.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, while no fatalities have been reported in Israel as a result of Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks since March 2.