Tri-Service

Could British Army Be Called Upon To Again Evict Migrants?

This above footage is from Forces News' 2008 Archive.

Britain has given dozens of migrants camped on a military base in Cyprus seven days to claim asylum or face deportation to Lebanon.

115 people came ashore at RAF Akrotiri three weeks ago and have been staying at Dhekelia in the island's Sovereign Base Area.

Letters were handed out on Sunday in English or Arabic notifying migrants of their options.

A Government spokesperson says: “We have now formally notified the migrants who have not claimed asylum that we do intend to remove them.

"We have been clear with the migrants on the options open to them and they have also had advice from the UNHCR."

So far 38 people have applied for asylum in Cyprus.

No date has been set for the deportations to start.

In a scene prescient of today's events, the above footage shows action taken by British Forces in 2008 to evict Iraqi refugees that had refused to apply for refugee status with the Republic of Cyprus.

The homes were made uninhabitable so that the occupants were forced to go to the Cypriot authorities. Offensive weapons were also found while clearing the houses.

The following script precluded the news report:

"The homes of eight Iraqis and an Iranian have been emptied and dismantled by the British Forces in the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus in a large scale- eviction operation, which saw many knives, clubs and batons being confiscated.

"It follows a now week-long roof-top protest by the occupants who’ve seized control of a fire-service training tower in Episkopi, and who are threatening to either jump or starve themselves to death if they’re not granted British passports."