The police on Friday declared that they are “ready to maintain security and order” ahead of a planned protest on Sunday in support of the “mujahideen fighting in Idlib and Aleppo”, two Syrian cities recently taken by rebel forces.

They said their “primary objective” is to “maintain law and order and to preserve public peace and security”, and that “for this purpose, its members will be at the event to protect people and their property, as well as to facilitate traffic”.

They added that if actions taken by protesters are “beyond the scope of legality” and “render the demonstration non-peaceful”, they will intervene.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus News Agency reported that there may be a counterprotest organised against those in favour of Syrian rebel forces, and as such, the Limassol police will operate a crisis centre, with a water cannon said to be on standby.

The protest will take place at 1pm on Limassol’s Molos promenade.

Rebel forces in Syria have now advanced southwards from Aleppo and Idlib and have taken the city of Hama. They are now heading towards Homs, the last major city on the road to the capital Damascus.

On Tuesday, Cyprus’ foreign ministry warned the country’s citizens to “avoid all travel” to Syria, saying it is “closely monitoring the deterioration of the situation” as “the security situation in the country may deteriorate further without warning”.

It also said that all Cypriots wishing to leave Syria are “strongly encouraged to do so by road via Lebanon, where commercial flights to Cyprus are available.

The warning was issued a day after the ministry called for the “utmost restraint” from the warring parties in Syria.

It said it has “persistently supported United Nations Security Council resolution 2254”, which was adopted in December 2015 and calls for a ceasefire and a political settlement to the Syrian civil war.