Police armed with Tasers had to quell disturbances involving migrants at a British military camp in Cyprus after tents were set on fire.

Some of the migrants – who are angry they are being forced to remain on the Mediterranean island and want permission to come directly to Britain – likened their detention to Guantanamo Bay.

'We are people, not animals,' one shouted.

A line of British police, some carrying Tasers and handcuffs, tried to block the path of one man who scaled a fence at Dhekelia, which is the temporary home of 114 migrants who landed at another UK base on the island, RAF Akrotiri, in two boats a fortnight ago.

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Up in flames: Migrants set fire to tents at the British Army base in Dhekelia, Cyprus, in protest over their treatment after they landed at another RAF base on the island last month seeking asylum in Europe

Chaos: The video filmed at the UK army base in Dhekelia shows a man allegedly trying to hang himself, before he is stopped by British military police

The 67 men, 28 children and 19 women were bussed from RAF Akrotiri to the Dhekelia garrison near Larnaca last week.

Last night, it emerged 14 had been handed over to Cypriot authorities. However, the rest remain in limbo.

The disturbances happened on Monday night when tensions boiled over and two tents in the temporary facility on the base were set ablaze.

The migrants told the Mail that if the UK will not let them in, they should be permitted to go to Greece, their original destination, or another mainland European country.

The migrants, living in a fenced-off camp in Dhekelia, insist they do not want to remain in Cyprus and say they should be brought to the UK as they are on British soil.

Threat: The man is seen reportedly threatening to commit suicide as tensions run high among the 114 migrants and refugees being housed at the base on Cyprus

Protest: Another clip shows a group of migrants protesting at a fence, with one man having climbed on top of the barbed wire

Clashes: The video sees the man on the fence screaming at British personnel; 'Let us leave! We are people, not animals', as others argue with staff by his feet

Ibrahim Marouf, 37, a Palestinian from Lebanon who was speaking on behalf of the group, urged Prime Minister David Cameron to show humanity.

'We are in his hands. If he's a real human, so are we,' he said. 'He's afraid if we go to the UK, others will too. Don't make a lesson of us.'

Mr Marouf said the two boats had arrived at Akrotiri by accident.

'We didn't want to come here. We were going to Greece. None of us wants to be here... we should go to England.

'We told them we want to go to England, but they told us, "no". Now we're in a British prison.'

A video of the disturbances shows British police officers forced to calm an increasingly tense scene as one migrant threatened to hang himself with a makeshift noose made from cotton sheets.

At least five officers are seen forcing their way past other migrants to reach him. Another man is showed bloodied after self-harming.

The video indicates that the 114 migrants and refugees at Dhekelia are frustrated by the living conditions at the base, where they have been provided with food, shelter and aid approved by UN standards

Some of the military tents where the migrants have been staying (pictured) were set on fire on Saturday

One man, clutching his young daughter, told the BBC: 'They want us to take asylum in Cyprus, but we don't want that. We want to go to Europe, that's our dream.'

Sean Tully, a spokesman for the British bases in Cyprus, said: 'The UK government will not allow a new migrant route to open up to the UK from Cyprus.'

The migrants were taken to the new 'temporary transit facility' at Dhekelia as authorities said it was 'more suitable accommodation'.

The base is already home to migrants from a group of 75 refugees who arrived by chance in a ramshackle boat at Akrotiri in 1998.

Seventeen years later, 21 of the original group are still there. With children born there and family members who joined them, they now number about 70.

Under a 2003 memorandum of understanding between the British bases and Cyprus, the UK is responsible for any migrants arriving directly on the bases.

However, Cyprus agreed to provide them services, welfare benefits, and the right to apply for a work permit on its territory – provided Britain foots the bill.

It is also up to Britain to find a country willing to take in any people recognised as refugees.

The Ministry of Defence accused the migrants of setting the tents on fire and said the blaze was put out quickly by the base’s fire service.

‘There were some very minor smoke inhalation injuries – those were treated very quickly by medical staff,’ Mr Tully said.