A drone strike on the British airbase at Akrotiri has reignited a fierce debate over the UK’s military presence in Cyprus, as local residents warn the island has become a target for regional conflicts.
While British officials have focused on the airfield’s security gaps, many in Cyprus are questioning why the bases remain on the island at all. Declassified UK reports that the strike, which occurred on Sunday night, hit a hangar housing American U-2 spy planes.
Melanie Steliou, a parliamentary candidate for the opposition party AKEL, said the attack was no surprise. Steliou told Declassified UK that her son stayed home from school on Monday because the building sits next to the base. She said she felt “scared, frustrated and mad” that Cyprus had been put in the spotlight by the British government’s decision to allow the US to use the bases for operations against Iran.
The strike is believed to have been carried out by a Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon. According to Declassified UK, the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned that Cyprus would be targeted if it allowed its territory to be used for strikes in the region.
AKEL, which currently holds 15 of the 56 seats in parliament, has long campaigned for the full decolonisation of the island. Steliou, who is running for a seat in Limassol, described the sovereign base areas as a “remnant of British colonialism.” She argued that as long as the bases remain British territory, Cyprus is not completely free.
The controversy has also highlighted the role of the British spy station on Mount Troodos. Declassified UK writes that the station is used for regional surveillance and has been a focal point for annual protests by the youth group EDON. Protesters at a recent rally outside the station chanted “British bases out,” arguing that the facility makes the island complicit in Middle Eastern conflicts.
Seviros Koulas, general secretary of EDON, told the crowd that the bases do not bring security but instead bring danger. He said residents do not accept Cyprus being used as a “springboard for war.”
The strike at Akrotiri resulted in minor damage to the runway and hangar facilities, but no casualties were reported. British authorities have since moved some personnel as a precaution, though local residents noted they have nowhere else to go.
Steliou said the situation is a “sickening example of a colonial mindset,” noting that while British personnel are being dispersed for safety, the surrounding Cypriot communities remain at risk.
(Photo: Aleksandar Ljubojevic / Declassified UK)
