More than 300 Syrian refugees rescued by a cruise ship off the coast of Cyprus today staged a dramatic sit-in aboard the pleasure liner ... and refused to budge until it took them to mainland Europe. The group was found stranded in the Mediterranean Sea after fleeing their war-torn homeland as it continued under onslaught of Islamic State jihadis. But as soon as the Salamis Cruise Lines ship docked in Cyprus to drop them off, they stayed on board and demanded to be taken to Italy. Scroll down for video Help us: The group was found stranded in the Mediterranean Ocean after fleeing their war-torn homeland as it continued to battle the Islamic State onslaught
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345 people, including 52 children, were rescued from boat near Cyprus
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But once aboard the cruise liner they refused to budge until taken to Italy
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Some came off to negotiate but talks soon broke down and they went back
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Finally police were forced to board the liner and persuade them to leave
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They were taken to medical centre where they can shower, eat and rest
The situation was finally resolved shortly before dawn today after @placeholder deployed an elite team of riot police to bring them down.