Cyprus on high alert for attacks during holiday period

Cyprus is treating the upcoming holiday period as ‘high-risk’ in light of the war raging in the Middle East, and upping security measures amid fears of a ‘lone wolf attack’, Justice Minister Anna Procopiou said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the memorial of former President Tassos Papadopoulos, Procopiou underlined that during the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council held last week in Brussels, all member states were concerned for the holiday period.

This is due to the situation unfolding in the Middle East that is showing no signs of letting up, she added.

There are concerns over “what could happen in case of indiscriminate attacks against citizens in city centres by the so-called ‘lone wolves’,” such as the one which took place in Brussels in October, where two Swedish nationals were killed in a terror attack.

Asked whether Cyprus is also following Europe’s lead by declaring the coming period as a high-risk one and increasing security measures, the minister said “this is definitely the philosophy of the government”.

The Republic of Cyprus is “always vigilant, as are the other EU member states,” she noted.

Asked whether Cyprus would be upping its measures in high-risk areas or whether there would be broader stricter measures, Procopiou explained the ministry was approaching this in a two-fold manner.

On the one hand, the government has increased policing in specific sites since the Hamas attack on October 7, while at the same time there will be increased policing in view of the holiday period.