Overwhelmed with incoming migrants, Cypriot President has announced a suspension of Syrian asylum applications.

Cyprus will no longer process asylum applications by those arriving from Syria, President Nikos Christodoulides announced, as a large number of people from the war-torn country continue to flee to the island nation.

“On account of the latest mass arrival of Syrian political asylum seekers by sea, processing of applications from persons of Syrian origin has been suspended,” Christodoulides said in a post on social media platform X.

He did not specify how long the suspension will remain in place.

The Cypriot government said the suspension is also partly because of ongoing efforts to get the European Union to redesignate some areas of the war-torn country as safe zones to enable repatriations.

People arriving from Syria will have to remain in the overflowing reception camps for as long as new arrangements are made, DPA reported on Sunday citing government sources.