(AP) Cyprus and Lebanon on Tuesday reaffirmed an agreement for Lebanese authorities to take back migrants aboard boats trying to reach Cypriot shores.
Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said Lebanese and Cypriot police and naval forces will intercept migrant boats departing from Lebanon. He said European Union member Cyprus and Lebanon would also seek assistance from the bloc’s border agency Frontex in coastal surveillance.
“We’re sending out a clear message that we won’t tolerate anyone engaging in the trafficking of human beings and that we’re defending the interests of our two states,” Nouris said after talks with Major-General Abbas Ibrahim, a senior official from Lebanon’s Interior Ministry.
The two officials said all migrants aboard boats attempting to reach Cyprus will be returned.
