Cyprus police pick up 21 migrants who crossed dividing line

Cyprus police say they have rounded up 21 men believed to be migrants who crossed over from the breakaway north of the ethnically divided island nation.

Police said the migrants hail from countries including Congo, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

They were spotted early Wednesday in a suburb of the country’s divided capital after walking across a U.N. buffer zone separating the north from the internationally recognized south.

All 21 were taken to a migrants’ reception centre on Nicosia’s outskirts.

Cyprus officials say most migrant arrivals to Cyprus come through the country’s northern part where Turkish Cypriots have declared independence that’s recognized only by Turkey.