AKROTIRI, Cyprus, March 2 (Reuters) – A drone strike hit a British air base in Cyprus overnight, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot and British officials said on Monday, in a marked escalation effectively dragging an EU member state into the conflict surrounding Iran.
The strike, which hit a runway at the Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri, was the first attack on the military facility since a rocket attack by Libyan militants in 1986. It shook the east Mediterranean island, a holiday hotspot and home to thousands of foreign companies.
Britain had moved additional air assets to Akrotiri in anticipation of U.S. action against Iran in preceding weeks while saying British bases would not be used.
On Sunday, however, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain had accepted a U.S. request to use its bases for defensive strikes against Iranian missiles in storage depots or launchers.
British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said the U.S. had not requested access to the Akrotiri air base.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said in a speech that the Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle caused minor damage when it crashed into the military facilities at 12:03 a.m.
It was not immediately clear from where the Iranian-made Shahed had been fired. Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the British bases intercepted a second drone, but one of the sources later said it was ‘one drone’.
“All the competent services of the republic are on alert and in full operational readiness,” Christodoulides said.
‘CYPRUS WAS NOT THE TARGET’
Akrotiri base, south-west of the sprawling coastal city of Limassol, is one of two bases Britain has retained in the former colony since independence in 1960. In addition to the military facilities, it houses families of serving personnel.
Although the bases are regarded as British sovereign territory, Cyprus itself is an EU member, now holding the bloc’s rotating presidency. Britain has no legal obligation to inform Cyprus of its use in military operations, but it is customary for London to inform Nicosia of activity.
“I want to be clear: Our country does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation,” Christodoulides said.
Cooper said no further details could be provided immediately regarding the strike.
“All of the precautionary measures are being taken around the base,” Cooper told Sky News.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc stood by all its member states in the face of any threat.
“While the Republic of Cyprus was not the target, let me be clear: we stand collectively, firmly and unequivocally with our Member States in the face of any threat,” von der Leyen said in a post on X.
On Sunday, British defence secretary John Healey said Britain had intercepted two missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus, but added he didn’t believe Cyprus was deliberately targeted.
An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters they believed Iran was trying to expand the conflict and drag Europeans into it.
RESIDENTS TAKE SHELTER
People from the nearby civilian village of Akrotiri, home to Greek Cypriots, fled the community overnight, with some taking shelter at Cypriot army barracks in Limassol, local Mayor Pantelis Georgiou told the Cyprus News Agency.
“I was watching TV and I heard a big explosion. I called the SBA (bases police) asking what was happening, they said they couldn’t say anything. I took my wife, my in-laws, to Limassol,” a person identified as Theodoros told the state broadcaster CyBC from Akrotiri.
“Someone should have informed us.”
Base authorities advised residents near Akrotiri to shelter in place until further notice after a “suspected drone impact”, and added later that non-essential personnel would be relocated, while other British facilities would operate normally.
Akrotiri, positioned on a square-shaped peninsula on the southern tip of Cyprus, has been used in the past for military operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Britain has roughly 7,000 British personnel and dependents on Cyprus. The bases’ territories, covering 99 square miles of Cyprus, or just under 3% of the island, also host a key listening post of the Joint Service Signal Unit at Ayios Nicolaos, which is part of the base on the eastern part of the island.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru, Michele Kambas in Nicosia, Yiannis Kourtoglou at Akrotiri, Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti in London and Lili Bayer in Brussels; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Aidan Lewis)
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