Cyprus says Lebanon blocked return of 116 Syrian migrants

Cyprus said on Tuesday it was in discussions with Lebanon over the return of 116 Syrian migrants rescued off the island country's coast after Beirut refused to accept them back. 

The migrants were rescued in international waters 30 nautical miles off Cyprus over the weekend having left Lebanon by boat, Cypriot officials said. 

Cyprus, the European Union's easternmost member, has had an agreement in place with Lebanon for years regarding the return of irregular migrants.

Migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who leave Lebanon by boat are generally seeking a better life in Europe, and often head for the Mediterranean island, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) away. 

Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the rescue of the 116 migrants from war-torn Syria was launched on Sunday after Lebanese authorities raised the alarm.

The following day, three Cypriot police and national guard vessels escorted the rescued migrants back to Lebanon, but they were denied entry, said Ioannou. 

"Unfortunately, the authorities of Lebanon did not accept the return of those on board the Lebanese vessel," he said.

The minister said "Lebanon has a very big problem" with migration and stressed the issue would be handled politically.

Cypriot authorities did not immediately confirm where the migrants were now.

Ioannou said he did not know why the migrants were not allowed to disembark, adding however that there was "continuous communication" with the authorities of Lebanon.

Last year, the UN refugee agency expressed concern over the return of more than 100 Syrian migrants to Lebanon, saying they had not been screened to assess whether they needed legal protection, or might be deported to their homeland. 

Nicosia — which has seen an influx of irregular Syrian migrants arriving from Lebanon since the Hamas-Israel war erupted in October — insists the returns are legal under the bilateral agreement with Beirut. 

Cyprus said the war, which has also triggered cross-border fighting in southern Lebanon, weakened Lebanon's efforts to monitor its territorial waters and prevent the departure of migrant vessels. 

"The situation in Lebanon itself is difficult at the moment," said Ioannou.

Cyprus is a "frontline country" on the eastern Mediterranean migrant route, with asylum-seekers comprising over five percent of the 915,000 population in the government-controlled parts of the island — a record figure across the EU.