Works by the occupation forces near the buffer zone in the Deneia area continue, the head of the local community, Christakis Panayiotou, told CNA on Thursday, noting that the United Nations were monitoring the situation.
Asked by CNA about the situation in the area after reports on Wednesday about works by Turkish soldiers near the buffer zone in the Deneia area, in Nicosia district, Panayiotou said, they were witnessing the continuation of the works, and specifically the digging of a large ditch, about three meters deep. He mentioned that they noticed that works started three days ago.
He said that President Nikos Christodoulides called him and asked for an update on the situation.
He also noted that the United Nations seem to be closely monitoring the area, and that earlier in the day a helicopter of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) flew over the site.
The Deneia community leader also mentioned that he was in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing satisfaction with the in
terest shown by the Government and the President, as well as by the United Nations.
According to Panayiotou, the residents of the community were used to such moves by the occupying forces and did not feel fear, but appreciate the interest shown by the Government.
UNFICYP spokesperson, Aleem Siddique, asked by CNA, said that there was no change since yesterday and that they were closely monitoring the area to prevent any tensions.
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 o
wners, 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 report, the UN Secretary General has noted 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