Turkish Cypriot and Turkish occupation forces assault UN peacekeepers

Turkish Cypriot forces assaulted UN peacekeepers Friday (18 August) as they attempted to block the construction of a controversial road in the buffer zone dividing Cyprus, the UN mission on the island said.

The incident occurred in Pyla, a village in the UN-patrolled Green Line that slices between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north.

The United Nations mission had on Thursday warned the Turkish Cypriot authorities against “unauthorised construction activities inside the UN buffer zone”.

But it said its peacekeepers had come under attack on Friday as they tried to block the construction of the road that encroaches on the buffer zone.

“The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus condemns the assaults against UN peacekeepers and damage to UN vehicles by personnel from the Turkish Cypriot side this morning,” UNFICYP said in a statement.