‘KYP watching Muslim radicals’

THE increasing numbers of foreign nationals slipping through the Green Line from the north has heightened concerns about terrorism, according to Phileleftheros.

It said there was increasing concern in the secret services (KYP), quoting a source as saying some individuals had known links to extremist organisations and were being monitored by KYP.

The same sources allegedly said that four known Muslim radicals had recently crossed to the south and immediately requested political asylum to avoid arrest for illegal entry.
There has also been an increase in the number of Kurds crossing, now standing at around 1,500. KYP have not ruled out the possibility that some of these people may not in fact be Kurdish at all. There is no suggestions that the Kurds pose a threat but their increased number has prompted the authorities to keep an eye on them.

A police source told the Cyprus Mail it was obvious that the police would be monitoring certain individuals who had crossed from the north but would not speak about individual cases.

With regards to terrorism, the government states that, “the fight against international crime, particularly international terrorism, through international co-operation and through the full implementation of all relevant international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism, as well as all Security Council resolutions, is one of the top priorities of the foreign policy of Cyprus.

“Concerning the struggle against international terrorism, Cyprus supports that the community of nations must individually and collectively take concerted and resolute action and, to this end, is firmly committed to the full implementation of the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.”

The United States has been working closely with Cyprus in the war on terrorism after a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty was enforced on September 18, 2002. The US Embassy would not comment on whether they too were monitoring individuals or possible terrorism activity on the island.

Meanwhile in an effort to clampdown on illegal immigrants, police have made 21 arrests in the last 48 hours.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.