Cyprus has suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians following a sharp increase in irregular arrivals in April, authorities said on Sunday.

More than 1,000 people have arrived in Cyprus on boats from Lebanon since the start of April amid deepening tensions in the Middle East.

It has triggered calls from Nicosia to its European Union partners to do more to assist Lebanon, as well as reconsider the status of war-torn Syria, which is at present considered unsafe to repatriate asylum seekers.

"This is an emergency measure, it's a difficult decision to protect the interests of Cyprus," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters.