Armed police spotted patrolling areas where large crowds gather should not cause alarm but actually strengthen the public’s sense of security, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Tuesday.
According to daily Politis, increased police have been dispatched to patrol public areas throughout the holiday season for fear of a terrorist attack in Cyprus, thereby spreading alarm and panic among the public.
The paper reported that, on instructions from the chief of police, in addition to shopping malls and markets, churches were patrolled on Christmas day and large social gatherings on New Year’s Eve.
Nicolaou said that the large number of patrolling policemen, who in some cases had to be recalled from their holidays, was added to the preventive measures taken recently, in response to the country’s heightened security status following the most recent terrorist attacks in Germany and Turkey.
“The factors influencing the security status, which is currently at medium, is our geopolitical position, the presence of many Muslims, various conflicting foreign interests, and the British bases, which operate in the Middle East,” the minister said.
Nicolaou hastened to reassure the public, nonetheless urging people to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
“We must all be alert now, without panicking over it,” he said.
Police spokesman Andreas Angelides confirmed the increased presence of policemen in public places, but noted that it need not worry the public.
“If people spot uniformed, armed police in some areas, it is not to cause alarm,” he said.
“On the contrary, it is for reasons of security.”
Meanwhile, Politis reported, the Cyprus police, in cooperation with various international agencies, investigates any information linking individuals residing in Cyprus, or travelling through Cyprus, with terrorist organisations or planned strikes.
A tip was received last week, it added, that people living in Limassol had links to terrorism, but investigations found nothing against them.
However, the individuals, as well as their places of worship, remain under constant surveillance, Nicolaou said.
The justice minister said that, as a result of the close cooperation between international agencies and services, several individuals have been arrested on entry to Cyprus and extradited to other countries.
“There is information that one of our airports, or an airport in our region, will be used to take over, or hijack, an aircraft en route to some destination,” Nicolaou said by way of an example, going on to explain that in such a hypothetical added security measures would be taken.
