Cypriots call for closure of British army bases amid mounting fears of new strikes

Chants of “British bases out” have echoed through recent protests in Limassol, where demonstrators are demanding the removal of UK military bases from Cyprus’s southern coast in light of recent strikes against them.

The demonstrations began after a suspected Iranian-made drone struck RAF Akrotiri earlier this week, two days after United States–Israel attacks on Iran began, as an article by Al Jazeera reports.

Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, has permitted the US to use British bases for “defensive strikes” against Iranian missile sites, a decision that has intensified debate in Cyprus about the continued presence of the British military on the island.

The United Kingdom retained two sovereign base areas on Cyprus—Akrotiri and Dhekelia—when the island gained independence from the British crown in 1960 under a power-sharing arrangement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

For many Cypriots, however, the agreement represented a compromise that left the country only partially sovereign as the bases—unlike facilities in the Gulf that operate under lease agreements or host-nation arrangements—do not form part of any lease that economically benefits the island. 

Instead, they have long served as launch points for British military operations across the Middle East. Both RAF Akrotiri and Dhekelia function effectively as permanent territories controlled by Britain, the article states.

“The bases are a remnant of the colonial and imperialist empire of Britain,” said Melanie Steliou Nicolaou, a local TV presenter who lives near the Akrotiri RAF base, speaking to Al Jazeera. “To me, Cyprus was never truly decolonised.”

Al Jazeera recalls that the UK initially provided financial assistance to Cyprus after independence in 1960 as part of the arrangements establishing the sovereign base areas. Those payments, however, ended in the mid-1960s amid unrest on the island.

Nicolaou said Britain portrays the bases as a security measure when, in reality, “they’re really here to spy on the Middle East; when planes take off, people know they’re going to a warzone or sharing intelligence for a mission.”

Citing reporting by Declassified UK, the article reports that aircraft from RAF Akrotiri have supported military campaigns in Iraq and Libya, as well as assisted Israeli operations in Gaza during the most recent phase of the conflict.

Together, the sovereign base areas account for roughly 3 percent of Cyprus’s territory. Their reach extends beyond strictly military installations, with several Cypriot villages located partly or entirely within the controlled zones.

After the drone attacks believed to have been launched by Iran, the UK Ministry of Defence said it would deploy a warship to the island along with two AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters “to bolster drone defence for our Cypriot partners,” a move that has heightened concerns the island could remain a target as the newly erupting conflict unfolds.

By Nazrin Sadigova