Cyprus 'not involved' in UK strikes on Yemen from island

Cyprus is "not involved" in military action against Yemen's Huthi rebels, the foreign ministry said Friday, after aircraft stationed at a British base on the island joined US-led strikes on the rebels.

Britain has retained sovereign control over two base areas in its former colony under the terms of the treaties that granted the island independence in 1960.

Early Friday, British warplanes, which had taken off from Akrotiri airbase on the island, hit Huthi targets in Yemen suspected of being used to launch missiles and attack drones at Red Sea shipping in support of Palestinian militants in Gaza, the British defence ministry said.

"Regarding the use of British bases in Cyprus, the government is in constant communication with the UK, always within the framework set by the Treaty of Establishment," foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said.

"The security of Cyprus is the government's top priority in the relevant contacts," he told the state-run Cyprus News Agency.

Gotsis said European Union member Cyprus was "systematically monitoring the disturbing developments in the Red Sea in close coordination with the EU and constant contact with our international partners."

Washington announced a maritime security initiative in December, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect shipping in the Red Sea after attacks by the Yemeni rebels prompted many firms to reroute their vessels away from the Red Sea, with knock-on effects for the world economy.

The EU has separately been mulling its own naval mission in the Red Sea although Spain has ruled out joining it.

Cyprus has the third largest shipping fleet in the bloc after Malta and Greece, and is among the world's largest ship management centres.

"As a state in the region with a significant maritime footprint, we clearly stress the need for an immediate end to all actions that threaten free and safe navigation," Gotsis said.

Some political parties have condemned Cyprus being used as a launchpad for air strikes on Yemen, with the Green Party describing the British-US operation as "dangerous and risky".

The Cyprus Peace Council is organising a demonstration outside Akrotiri airbase on Sunday to protest against British support for Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza.

It said that Britain joining the United States in bombing targets in Yemen was turning Cyprus into a "war base".