Cyprus official says 700 migrants could land in next week
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Up to 700 migrants could arrive on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus next week on smuggling trips from Turkey, a top Cypriot official said Saturday, hours after 93 migrants landed in the dark on the island’s northwestern shore.
Cyprus Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos, who made the comment to state broadcaster RIK, said authorities could handle any new arrivals as long as their numbers remained low. His prediction was based on reports about the activities of a known Turkish smuggler, he said.
Officials on the eastern Mediterranean island said they believe Saturday’s smuggling trip began in Mersin, Turkey.
Bashir Khashan said he had to sell his home in the Syrian village of Edlib to raise $12,000 to pay Turkish smugglers to get his wife, four children and a son-in-law aboard the overcrowded boat that landed just after midnight. Officials said those on the boat included 42 children and 17 women.