AKEL has criticised the British government’s decision to use the Akrotiri base for a military support mission to Saudi Arabia, saying the move draws Cyprus into Middle East conflicts and multiplies the risks facing the country and its people.
In a statement, the party said the British bases were not only a colonial legacy but a permanent source of danger and threats to Cyprus. AKEL said it opposed the use and involvement of the British bases on the island in the region’s armed conflicts, which it said threatened regional and international security.
The party called on the government to act to prevent Cyprus being exposed to further risk because of the bases’ activity and involvement. AKEL urged the Christodoulides government to take all necessary steps and make clear that Cyprus does not consent to any use or involvement of the British bases in the region’s ongoing conflicts.
The statement follows reports in the British and international press that Britain’s military support for Saudi Arabia will once again be carried out through the British bases on the island.
Britain confirmed this week that a Voyager aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri is expected to begin providing air-to-air refuelling support for Saudi Arabia, following a Saudi request for military support amid continuing Houthi attacks.
Akrotiri, one of two British Sovereign Base Areas on the island, was struck by a drone for the first time on 2 March 2026. Cyprus’s president, Nikos Christodoulides, said an Iranian-made Shahed-type drone had crashed into the base, causing what he described as minor material damage. No injuries were reported. Cyprus’s foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said the drone appeared to have been launched from Lebanon.
Further drones aimed at Cyprus were intercepted in the days that followed, and Britain deployed a warship and two Royal Navy helicopters to the island in response. Akrotiri is Britain’s main airbase for operations in the Middle East and has previously been used to launch strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
