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WORLD NEWS Monday 15 april 2024
Cyprus suspends processing of Syrian asylum applications as

boatloads of refugees continue arriving

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Leyen to intercede with ber is far higher, ranging
Associated Press Lebanese authorities to between 1.5 and 2 million.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — curb migrant boat depar- Many have escaped the
Cyprus said Saturday it’s tures. civil war in their country
suspending processing all Although the EU should pro- which entered its 14th year.
asylum applications by Syri- vide “substantial” EU sup- Ioannou this week visited
an nationals because large port to Lebanon, Christo- Denmark, Czechia and
numbers of refugees from doulides said any financial Greece to drum up sup-
the war-torn country con- help should be linked to port for a push to get the
tinue to reach the island how effectively Lebanese EU to declare parts of Syr-
nation by boat, primarily authorities monitor their ia as safe. Doing so would
from Lebanon. coastline and prevent boat enable EU nations to send
In a written statement, the departures. back Syrians hailing from
Cypriot government said Lebanon and Cyprus al- those “safe” areas.
the suspension is also partly ready have a bilateral deal The Cypriot interior minis-
because of ongoing efforts where Cypriot authorities ter said he and his Czech
to get the European Union would return migrants at- and Danish counterparts to
to redesignate some areas A man walks by the fence at the Pournara migrant reception tempting to reach the is- draft an official document
of the war-torn country as center in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on land from Lebanon. But Cy- for the EU executive to get
safe zones to enable repa- Jan. 24, 2024. Associated Press priot Interior Minister Con- a formal discussion on the
triations. stantinos Ioannou has said Syrian safe zone idea go-
The drastic step comes in According to Cyprus Inte- doulides and Lebanese that Lebanon is refusing to ing.
the wake of Cypriot Presi- rior Ministry statistics, some caretaker Prime Minister hold up its end of the deal Additionally, Ioannou said
dent Nicos Christodoulides’ 2,140 people arrived by Najib Mikati called on the because of domestic pres- he hand his Czech coun-
visit to Lebanon earlier boat to EU-member Cyprus European Union to provide sures. terpart agreed on a send-
week to appeal to au- between Jan. 1 and April 4 financial support to help Lebanon — which is coping ing joint fact-finding mission
thorities there to stop de- of this year, the vast major- cash-strapped Lebanon with a crippling economic to Syria to determine which
partures of migrant-laden ity of them Syrian nationals stop migrants from reach- crisis since 2019 — hosts areas in the country are
boats from their shores. The departing from Lebanon. In ing Cyprus. some 805,000 U.N.-regis- safe.
request comes in light of a contrast, only 78 people ar- Just days prior to his Leba- tered Syrian refugees, of However, U.N. agencies,
27-fold increase in migrant rived by boat to the island non trip, the Cypriot presi- which 90% live in poverty, human rights groups, and
arrivals to Cyprus so far this nation in the corresponding dent said that he had per- the U.N.’s refugee agency Western governments
year over the same period period last year. sonally asked EU Commis- says. Lebanese officials maintain that Syria is not
last year. On Monday, Christo- sion chief Ursula von der estimate the actual num- yet safe for repatriation.q

More civilians die in Ukraine as a think tank warns delays in U.S. aid

will hamper Kyiv’s forces

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — More Russian-occupied Kherson fensive operations due to
civilians died across Ukraine region killed two civilians delays in or the permanent
Sunday as analysts warned Sunday, said Moscow-in- end of U.S. military assis-
that delays in U.S. military stalled leader Vladimir Sal- tance,” the think tank said.
assistance would see Kyiv do. Ukrainian drones were Ukraine’s military chief,
struggle to fight off Russian also reported in Russia’s Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said
offensives. Krasnodar and Belgorod Saturday that Ukraine’s
One man was Sunday killed regions and over the Black battlefield situation in the
after a Russian drone hit the Sea, the Russian Defense industrial east had “signifi-
truck he was driving in the Ministry said. cantly worsened in recent
Sumy region, the local pros- The news came as the In- days,” as warming weather
ecutor’s office said. Else- stitute for the Study of War, allowed Russian forces to
where, a 67-year-old wom- a Washington-based think launch a fresh push along
an was killed after shelling tank, warned that delays in several stretches of the
hit an apartment block in Western military assistance more than 1,000-kilometer
the Donetsk region, said would increasingly ham- A Ukrainian serviceman from the Azov brigade known by call sign (620-mile) -long front line.
Gov. Vadym Filashkin. per Ukraine’s ability to push Chaos, right, carries mortar shell, while he waits for a command In an update on the Tele-
Officials in the Kharkiv re- back Russian advances. to fire, at positions of 122 mm HM 16 mortar around one kilometer gram messaging app,
gion also said Sunday that With the war in Ukraine away from Russian forces on the frontline in Kreminna direction, Syrskyi said that Russian
Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, April 12, 2024.
they had retrieved the bod- entering its third year and Associated Press forces had been “actively
ies of a 61-year-old woman a vital U.S. aid package attacking” Ukrainian posi-
and a 68-year-old man for Kyiv stuck in Congress, distance — to pummel level efforts focusing on the tions near the cities of Ly-
killed by a Russian strike the Russia has used its edge in Ukrainian forces beset by a cities of Lyman, Chasiv Yar, man, Bakhmut and Pok-
previous day. Ten Russian firepower and personnel to shortage of troops and am- and Pokrovsk. rovsk, and beginning to
Shahed-type drones were step up attacks across east- munition. “The Russian military com- launch tank assaults as dri-
shot down over the Kharkiv ern Ukraine. It has increas- In its report, the ISW said mand likely assesses that er, warmer spring weather
region overnight, the Ukrai- ingly used satellite-guided that Russian forces were Ukrainian forces will be un- made it easier for heavy
nian Air Force said Sunday. gliding bombs — dropped prioritizing grinding, tacti- able to defend against cur- vehicles to move across
Meanwhile, shelling in the from planes from a safe cal gains with operational- rent and future Russian of- previously muddy terrain.q