?he status of the buffer zone remains unchanged, spokesperson of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Aleem Siddique, said on Wednesday in a statement to CNA in response to media reports about construction activity in the buffer zone in the area of Deneia, in the Nicosia district.
‘We are aware of reports of construction activity north of Deneia, outside the UN buffer zone,’ Siddique said. He added that they were in contact with the local community leader ‘to reassure him that the status of the buffer zone remains unchanged.’ UNFICYP was monitoring the area closely to prevent any tensions, he added.
Earlier in the day, newly appointed Defence Minister, Vasilis Palmas, asked after his swearing in ceremony at the Presidential Palace to comment about concerns expressed by area residents about works being carried out by the occupation army at the boundary of the ceasefire line in Deneia, said that ‘the way the occupying forces approach various issues related to these matters is known.’ Palmas also sa
id that he was certain that the National Guard and the outgoing Minister were aware of this issue.
Last August, Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a UN controlled buffer zone in the area of Pyla, in the Larnaca district.
The international community, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, condemned August’s attack. Later on, an understanding was reached which provides that a single urban development area would be created. Works, that begun based on this understanding, were temporarily halted to resolve complaints by some Turkish Cypriot land owners, who believe that their plots are affected.
Further violations occurred in December 2023, when Turkish occupation forces entered the buffer zone in the area of Agios Dometios, in Nicosia, and installed on an uninhabited residence there a metal mast, on which a rotating camera and antenna were mounted.
In a recent report, the UN
Secretary General notes the importance of the parties refraining from taking unilateral actions both in and adjacent to the buffer zone that could raise tensions.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 illegal Turkish invasion. Numerous peace talks under the UN aegis with the aim to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results. The latest round of talks took place in the summer of 2017 in the Swiss resort of Crans Montana.
Source: Cyprus News Agency