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.

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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

Rescued: They were winched to safety after their rickety boat ran into trouble at sea

We will not be moved! The group of refugees stayed on board the liner and refused to budge until they were taken to Italy

Take us to Italy: For hours they waited as Cypriot authorites debated about what to do about the group

Long journey: The group was picked up by the liner near Paphos, on Cyprus' west coast, as they attempted to sail the 1,500 miles to Italy

The situation was finally resolved shortly before dawn today after Cyprus deployed an elite team of riot police to bring them down.

After a few minutes of tense negotiations, the refugees agreed to leave.

Cypriot officials said that the 345 people, including 52 children, were to be taken to a reception center near the capital Nicosia where they would be given shelter and medical attention until authorities determine what will happen to them.

Police: The situation was finally resolved shortly before dawn today after police entered the vessel to talk to the remaining refugees

Disembarking: After some time negotiating with police, they finally agreed to leave, according to Marinos Papadopoulos, an interior ministry official

Safe at last: The refugees were to be taken by bus to a camp not far from Nicosia

Relief: Many of them looked relieved and happy as they were driven away by coach, some even flashed peace signs to photographers in the street

Safe now: Others did not look so happy after their long and arduous journey to safety

Rest: They would be able to shower, get clean clothes and rest at the medical centre, according to the Red Cross

Dozens of civil defense officials, medical staff and police were waiting at dockside to receive the people after the cruise ship had docked

A small group did disembark from the ship to negotiate with authorities, authorities said, but talks broke off with the group returning to the ship

Arrested: But several adults holding small children were seen leaving the cruise ship, while one man led away by police in handcuffs

There they would be able to shower, get clean clothes and rest, according to the Red Cross.

GAMBIA'S PRESIDENT DEMANDS UN PROBE INTO 'MANMADE SINKING' OF MIGRANT BOATS TO EUROPE Gambia's president has demanded a United Nations investigation into the 'manmade sinking, capsizing' of boats carrying migrants to Europe, saying 500 citizens of his African country had died in such incidents in the past five years. Migrants have been streaming out of North Africa, mostly lawless Libya, in rickety boats in rising numbers for years. Many head for Italy, a gateway to the European Union. Nearly 3,000 of those migrants have drowned in shipwrecks this year. Earlier this month, some 500 migrants are believed to have died after traffickers rammed their ship off Malta's coast, leaving only nine survivors. At the U.N. General Assembly, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh described these incidents as 'the very dangerous, racist and inhuman behavior of deliberately causing boats carrying black Africans to sink.' 'The U.N. must conduct a full and impartial investigation into this manmade sinking, capsizing of these boats carrying young Africans to Europe,' Jammeh said. 'If these boats are able to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea only to sink on European coasts, we must find out what deadly mysterious force exists on the European Mediterranean coasts that causes boats carrying young Africans to disintegrate and sink upon arrival,' he said. Advertisement

Dozens of civil defense officials, medical staff and police were waiting at dockside to receive the people after the cruise ship had docked.

A small group did disembark from the ship to negotiate with authorities, authorities said, but talks broke off with the group returning to the ship.

But several adults holding small children were seen leaving the cruise ship, while one man led away by police in handcuffs.

The cruise ship had answered a distress signal from a trawler sailing some 50 nautical miles off the Cyprus coast in poor weather conditions, the Cyprus defence ministry said.

Salamis Cruise Lines Managing Director Kikis Vasiliou said his company received the request from Cypriot Search and Rescue authorities to assist in the rescue operation on Thursday morning while the cruise ship was returning to Cyprus from the Greek islands.

But he said the unexpected turn of events is costing his company 'several hundred thousand' euros after the cancellation of a trip by 300 mainly Russian tourists to Haifa, Israel aboard the cruise ship that was scheduled to depart late Thursday.

The Cypriot Defense Ministry said the boat had 'most likely' set sail from Syria loaded with 'civilian refugees.'

They will remain at a reception center near the capital Nicosia until authorities determine what will happen to them.

The Mediterranean has been plagued by shipwrecks in recent months involving migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says more than 2,500 people have drowned or been reported lost at sea this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.

In one of the deadliest wrecks on record, a ship carrying some 500 migrants - including Syrians, Palestinians and Egyptians - was deliberately sunk by traffickers off Malta earlier this month, leaving just 10 known survivors.

In trouble: The cruise ship had answered a distress signal from a trawler sailing some 50 nautical miles off the Cyprus coast in poor weather conditions

New liner work: The liner had been en route from the Greek island of Syros to Limassol when it received a call to assist in the rescue operation

Cyprus is located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the shores of war-ravaged Syria.

In August 2012, seven Syrians, including two children, drowned when the boat they were sailing to Cyprus to escape the conflict in their homeland sank off the island's northern coast.