Cyprus - August 2023

Turkish Cypriot police attacked UN peacekeepers seeking to prevent unauthorised attempts by Turkish Cypriot authorities to build a road encroaching on the UN buffer zone, a demilitarised zone established in 1964 after the de facto partition of the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) justified the construction of the road saying it was for “purely humanitarian purposes” and aimed to improve access to Turkish Cypriots living in the buffer zone town of Pyla/Pile, which is home to both a Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot population. The attack, which led to the hospitalisation of three UN personnel, has been widely condemned including by the UN and European Commission. While it is regular for UN peacekeepers to respond to incidents around the buffer zone, it is rare for this type of serious incident at the buffer zone to take place.

Sources: UN News, UNFICYP, European External Action Service, Anadolu Agency, Politis, Cyprus Mail, TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN Security Council