NICOSIA – Asylum seekers stuck in Cyprus’ buffer zone dividing line should be admitted to the Greek-Cypriot side that’s a member of the European Union – which doesn’t want them – the United Nations keeps insisting.

About 40 people are caught in the tug o’ war of words, with the UN calling on the legitimate government to accept them as they are trapped between the Greek-Cypriot side and the isolated Turkish-Cypriot occupied northern third.

The UN said that Cyprus must accept them under international law, reported Reuters, but there’s no sign the administration of President Nikos Christodoulides, a former Foreign Minister, is going to bend.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/asylum-seekers-stranded-cyprus-buffer-zone-fall-foul-conflict-2024-07-31/

The standoff has left those stranded stuck at two locations along the 180 kilometer (116 mile) line bisecting Cyprus, in flimsy tents in scorching heat, with no running water or electricity. The toilets are chemical portaloos, the shower is a crate covered with tarpaulin and a bucket of water, the news agency said.

“This is not viable and we are really concerned about the safety and well-being of the people who are stranded here,” said Emilia Strovolidou of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Most came from Turkey – where they went fleeing war, strife and economic hardship in their homelands, especially Syria and Afghanistan – and went to the occupied side in trying to reach the Greek-Cypriot side before stopped.

Contacted by Reuters, the office of Cyprus’s Migration Minister had nothing to say but earlier said that since the migrants traveled from Turkey, that country should take them back, no report if it would.

“We are calling on the government of Cyprus to ensure effective access to the asylum process and to dignified living conditions as the international refugee law provides,” Strovolidou also said.

Cyprus in April suspended processing asylum applications from Syrians after a big jump in arrivals by sea, that happening as locals have become uneasy over the numbers of refugees and migrants coming from the occupied side.

Afghans who spoke to Reuters said they had to seek sanctuary after the Taliban seized power in their homeland. A young woman who identified herself as Sapien, 30, was studying literature in Turkey but when her visa expired, she had to leave. She has been trapped in the buffer zone for three months and a week and said she is losing hope fast. “During the night I can’t sleep, I can’t feel safe here because I am alone,” she said. She said she had suicidal thoughts, was taken to a doctor who issued a prescription and promptly taken back to the buffer zone.

Another, identified only as Mudassir, 34, she he’s now stateless. ‘I told them we were seeking refuge and asylum because our lives were at risk, serious risk. But still they didn’t accept anything and brought us back to the buffer zone.”

Sapien added: “Never did I want to be a refugee. But it’s not my choice.”