Interior Minister, Constantinos Ioannou, has given instructions to authorities to stand by in the event that information about a mass departure of immigrants from Lebanon to Cyprus is confirmed, the Director of the Minister's Office, Loizos Hadjivasiliou, told CNA on Tuesday.

After information obtained from migrants who arrived on Monday, that approximately 500 people in a certain area of Lebanon were waiting to board boats for Cyprus, the Minister of the Interior contacted his Lebanese counterpart on Monday evening and according to Hadjivasiliou, he has received the assurance that the matter would be handled.

Hadjivasiliou said that, on Monday, September 25, a rescue operation was carried out after two overcrowded boats were spotted sailing off the coast of Cape Greco, off the southeastern coast of Cyprus. Authorities rescued 95 people from Syria, most of them men, who were taken to the "Pournara" first reception centre.

During the interviews conducted with these people, he added, the interpreters and the officials noticed that several of them mentioned that they were the first group to arrive in Cyprus. They also reported that around 500 people gathered at a certain area in Lebanon and were waiting to board boats for Cyprus.

The Ministry of the Interior, he said, was 'alarmed by this information' which prompted Ioannou to contact his Lebanese counterpart last night. In essence, he said, the agreement with Lebanon for the exchange of information reached during the Minister's last visit to the neighbouring country was activated.

Hadjivasiliou noted that there was a commitment by Lebanon that they would look into the matter and take action. 'This commitment satisfies us to the extent that we can limit the flow of people from this country', he said, noting that Lebanon was hosting two million refugees from Syria and it was not easy for the authorities to prevent the departure of boats.

'Instructions were given by the Minister of the Interior to make the necessary preparations for the reception of these people, in case the information about a mass departure of immigrants is confirmed', he added.

At the same time, he also referred to an 'informal agreement', after a recent letter sent to the Lebanese authorities, for strengthening the cooperation between the two countries, so that it becomes possible to intercept the boats.

'We believe that it is much easier for Lebanon to stop the departure of the boats, than to then carry out the process of returning the refugees', he said.

He also noted that after the strengthening of the measures and the contacts held abroad, which made it more difficult for migrants to arrive through the ceasefire line, it seems that people smuggling rings were now oriented towards the transport of people by sea.

Replying to a question, Hadjivasiliou said that the measures taken by the Interior Ministry 'seem to be working, and we are currently at over 50% reduction'. Conditions in the migrant reception facilities were better, he said adding that, there was quicker examination of asylum applications while the process of deporting those illegally staying in Cyprus has been accelerated.

Source: Cyprus News Agency