Cyprus on standby to assist evacuations from Middle East

Cyprus has fully activated a mechanism to allow third-country nationals evacuating the Middle East safe passage through the island as the crisis in the region worsens, government officials have said.

One country has sought Cyprus' assistance for the evacuation of civilians, and Cypriot authorities had offered facilities to nine other countries in assisting smaller groups of people to leave, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said. He did not identify the countries.

Kombos said that while airports in the region remained functional, use of the Cypriot facility might be unnecessary.

"If, as a result of yesterday's developments, airports in the region shut, the [evacuation] plan comes into play," Kombos said after a meeting of the island's national security council, top advisers to the government on security issues.

He was referring to Tuesday's missile...