Recent torrential rains in Cyprus have flooded the makeshift camp housing asylum seekers stranded in the buffer zone, with several tents rendered uninhabitable, UNFICYP said on Wednesday.
UNFICYP peacekeepers and UNHCR Cyprus are working to mitigate the impact, redirecting water and erecting additional shelters. However, they emphasised the urgent need for a permanent solution for the stranded individuals.
“The recent heavy rainstorms in #Cyprus have significantly impacted the living conditions of all the asylum seekers stranded in the United Nations #bufferzone. Several tents were flooded, with some rendered unusable,” UNFICYP said in a post on Facebook.
It added: “A permanent and sustainable solution is urgently needed for these stranded people.”
The crisis has intensified since Cyprus suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has criticised Cypriot authorities for pushing back asylum seekers to the UN buffer zone, despite repeated objections.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in June also accused Cypriot authorities of pushing back people to the buffer zone after they entered the Pournara reception centre to apply for asylum.
Deputy Minister of Immigration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides said that the government does not want the buffer zone turning into an “immigrant corridor” and stressed that Cyprus will not grant entry to the stranded migrants.
Nicosia has been lobbying the European Union to declare parts of Syria as safe for repatriation.
However, the U.N. human rights office has stated that based on evidence it has gathered, Syrian refugees who fled the ongoing Syrian civil war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return to Syria, while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence.
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