Mideast asylum seekers in Cyprus 'moved to transit centre'

Nearly half of the 115 Middle Eastern migrants held at a British military base on Cyprus were transferred Thursday to a government transit centre outside Nicosia, a British official said.

"This afternoon 53 migrants who had previously claimed asylum were transferred in to the care of the Cypriot authorities," said a British Forces Cyprus spokesperson.

"To date more than 90 of the 115 migrants who arrived at RAF Akrotiri in October have now claimed asylum and we will continue to work with the Cypriot authorities on the cases of those still in the Sovereign Base Area."

They were transported to a temporary reception centre after most of the migrants claimed asylum in Cyprus rather than stay at the British base.

Official sources said an unspecified number who have claimed asylum may be refused for security reasons.

Among the migrants, 13 want to go back to Lebanon voluntarily and nine are undecided, a source said.

"We are working with other nations to organise the removal of those individuals who do not wish to seek asylum," said British Forces Cyprus.

The 29 children, 19 women and 67 men landed at the Akrotiri Royal Air Force Base in two fishing boats on October 21 and were later moved to Dhekelia, the larger of Britain's two military bases on the island.

Britain retained sovereignty over both base areas when Cyprus won independence in 1960.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, on a visit to Cyprus Thursday, told reporters: "What I can say with absolute clarity is that there is no route for them into the United Kingdom. Sovereign bases are not a back door to migration."

The mostly Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese migrants -- who were originally heading for mainland Greece not Cyprus -- were handed a "notification of intention to deport" earlier this month.

Cyprus has said it is not responsible for those migrants who do not claim asylum or are rejected.