Cyprus police deported 38 Syrians after intercepting two fishing boats off the southeast coast, while five more boat people coming from Lebanon were arrested on Tuesday for illegal entry, police said.
The 38 Syrians, aged 18-39, were put on a chartered flight to the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier this week after consultations with the Syrian authorities, police said.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident on Tuesday, police arrested three Syrians, an Iraqi and a Palestinian for entering the island illegally, after being dropped off by a fishing boat off the southwest coast near Paphos, according to AFP.
Paphos police are searching for at least five more people believed to have been on the same boat, which departed from Lebanon and whose passengers reportedly paid 1,000 dollars each for the clandestine voyage. (Albawaba.com)
