Cypriot authorities intercepted a group of 47 Syrian refugees who they believed had arrived from the Turkish coast, the police said on Tuesday.

They said the group included 26 men, 10 women and 11 children.

Authorities believe that the refugees arrived aboard a Turkish fishing boat that had been spotted at about noon off the northwestern coast of Cyprus.

When a police patrol boat approached the boat at a distance of about two kilometers it changed course and headed for the coast of a region occupied by Turkish troops.

Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974, in reaction to a coup organized by the military rulers of Greece at the time.

Two hours after the fishing boat anchored in occupied territory the police spotted the refugees crossing into the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.

"Some of them looked very tired and several of the children did not have shoes on. Their feet were injured and bleeding. Several people were taken to a local hospital," a police officer said.

Three days ago Turkish media reported that Turkish police had arrested a fishing boat off the coast of Antalya with refugees aboard trying to reach Cyprus.

Cypriot authorities have said that they have information that about 450 Syrians have massed in Antalya, the closest point of Turkey to the Cypriot shores, waiting for a chance to travel to Cyprus.

They are mostly people related to Syrians who have been living in Cyprus for many years. Endit

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