Cyprus police detain 40 Syrian migrants after they land on island from Turkey

Cyprus detained 40 Syrian refugees shortly after they landed on the northwestern coast of the island, authorities said on Sunday.

Police said the boat was located about 25 kilometres (15 miles) off the island's coast late Saturday after it set out from Mersin, Turkey.

The migrants - which included two women and a child - disembarked in the country's breakaway Turkish-Cypriot north before crossing on foot to the internationally-recognised southern part of Cyprus.

Cyprus is divided between the Turkish-Cypriot northern region and the southern Greek-speaking majority.

They were found by police near the northwestern village of Pyrgos who were taken to a holding centre on Nicosia's outskirts for processing.

Cyprus says a recent spike in migrant arrivals has turned the tiny country into the EU's top destination for asylum-seekers per capita.

Millions of Syrians fled fighting in Syria from 2011, mostly from areas held by the opposition which have been heavily bombed by the regime.

Turkey hosts around 3 million Syrian refugees, and although conditions are generally better than in neighbouring countries tens thousands have attempted to reach Europe to start a better life.

Syria's war broke out in 2011, when regime troops opened fire on peaceful anti-government protests.