Roundup: Cypriot police says additional security measures put in place

Cyprus authorities were reported on Monday to have taken additional security measures to prevent terrorist attacks on the eastern Mediterranean island, as reports suggested that several migrants who had arrived recently were under surveillance for possible terrorist connections.

Police Chief Zacharias Chrysostomou told journalists that required measures were being put in place to minimize the possibility of terrorist actions following the Paris attacks in which 129 people were killed.

State television reported that heavily armed policemen of a special task force were keeping a close watch on several foreign embassies, including those of France, the United States, Germany, Britain and Israel.

The Chief of Police said there was no concrete information about terrorist actions on Cyprus which would cause concern, but added that authorities thought it prudent to strengthen security.

Cyprus is close to the fighting zones in the Middle East with its most eastern tip only about 100 km from Syria.

The porous dividing line between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot regions makes it easy for people to slip in by traveling from Turkey to the northern part of the island.

Cypriot media reported that unnamed foreign services had requested information from the local security services on at least five migrants suspected of possible connections with terrorists groups.

They arrived on Oct. 21 with 109 other people on the shores of the British air force base of Akrotiri in southern Cyprus.

The possibility that one of the Paris attackers had entered Greece early in October and traveled through several countries to France on a Syrian passport, possibly forged, gave credibility to the claims that five migrants in Cyprus were connected to terrorist groups.

When asked about the reports, the Chief of Police refused to go into details.

"We are vigilant and in continuous contact with foreign services. All that needs to be done is being done to ensure the safety of the public," said Chrysostomou.

A spokesman of the British base refused to answer questions about the five suspect migrants, saying that the authorities did not comment on security issues.

State television reported that, in fact, seven migrants were under surveillance, as it had been established that they knew each other and had been living in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon.

It added that authorities had received information that they may be associated with "criminal groups."

It further reported that the British MI5 service had also been conducting an investigation.

A spokesman of the British sovereign bases in Cyprus said that about half of the 114 migrants had asked for asylum.

Asylum seekers will be handed to the Cypriot authorities under a 2003 agreement between Britain and Cyprus. Endit