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The number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Cyprus increased in January 2022, according to the first estimates for the year published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), the agency responsible for guarding the external borders of the European Union.
In particular, FRONTEX said in its statement that in the first month of 2022, a total of 850 detections were made, an increase of 48% compared to the same period last year.
The nationalities of migrants and asylum seekers most recorded among arrivals in Cyprus were citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (known as Congo-Kinshasa), Syria and Nigeria.
More generally with regard to the situation on the Eastern Mediterranean route, which mainly concerns the Greece-Turkey border, FRONTEX notes that there have been no significant changes. However, in January 2022 the number of detections increased by 28% to 1163 compared to January 2021 when there were 911 detections (303 of which at the external border of Greece).
The most significant increase was recorded according to the data on the Western Balkans route where there were 5826 arrivals, 148% more than the same period last year. The top three countries of origin of migrants and asylum seekers were Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
In terms of total illegal crossings at the EU's external borders in January, FRONTEX estimates that the number reached 13.160, up 78% compared to January 2021 and 23% compared to January 2020.
The number of arrivals continues to move above pre-pandemic levels. The total number of irregular crossings for the whole of 2021 reached almost 200,000, the highest number since 2017.
However pressure at the EU's eastern border has fallen by almost 75%, following a large increase in May 2021 when arrivals more than doubled compared to the same period in 2020.
As for other regions, on the Central Mediterranean route, the number of arrivals reached 2150 in January, an increase of 107% compared to the same period in 2020.
Two out of three migrants and asylum seekers, according to FRONTEX data, came from Libya and the rest from Tunisia. Most arrivals from Libya involved citizens of Egypt, Bangladesh and Ivory Coast. 67% of arrivals from Tunisia were Tunisian citizens.
The number of detections on the Western Mediterranean route decreased by 55% to 693 in the first month of 2022 compared to January last year, in line with normal seasonal trends due to weather conditions. Almost 60% of the individuals detected on this route were Algerian citizens.
The West African route showed a 50% increase with 3007 detections. Half of the migrants and asylum seekers came from Morocco.
Finally, at the beginning of the year, there continued to be a significant increase in irregular migration flows from the European Union to the United Kingdom via the Channel. In January 2022, the number of sea crossings detected leaving the EU increased by 273% compared to January 2021. Over 2,500 irregular migrants and asylum seekers were detected on both sides of the Channel.
Source: CNA
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