ATHENS – An official says Cypriot authorities won’t consider the asylum applications of six individuals from among 114 migrants whose boats landed on the shores of a British air base on Cyprus last month because of unspecified security reasons.

The Cypriot government official said Monday information authorities have collected on these individuals offers reason to refuse processing their asylum claim. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to publicly discuss security matters, didn’t elaborate on what the information pertains to.

He didn’t rule out the possibility that Cypriot authorities could refuse asylum claims for other applicants on similar grounds.

Under an existing agreement with U.K. authorities, Cyprus is charged with processing asylum claims filed by migrants who arrive directly to the two bases that Britain maintains on the east Mediterranean island.

But the Cypriot official said the agreement includes a provision under which Cypriot authorities can refuse to consider asylum claims on security grounds.

–By Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus.

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