Cyprus to migrants: ‘The route is no longer open’

The sea journey from the Lebanese coast to Cyprus - the closest EU member-state - takes just 10 hours in the motorboats used by traffickers. The distance from Larnaca is about 112 nautical miles. Lebanon is the country with the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, hosting some 2 million Syrians and 200,000 Palestinians.

At the moment, Cyprus' refugee camps in Pournara and Kofinou are almost empty. But just five months ago, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides declared a migration crisis, stating that "the flows are unmanageable."

Cyprus follows a set of strict and, in many cases, legally controversial measures that have radically reduced flows. But they have also put it at odds with humanitarian organizations, UNHCR and the United Nations peacekeeping force on the island (UNFICYP).

The migration issue remains one of the hottest issues...