Unficyp to meet Denia village leader after buffer zone altercation

Denia, Cyprus. Representatives of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) will meet village mukhtar Charalambos Alexandrou on Thursday, following Wednesday’s altercation in the nearby buffer zone, spokesman Aleem Siddique said.

Both sides retreat

Siddique told the Cyprus News Agency that Unficyp was working with all parties to maintain calm and stability, while stressing that the underlying issues require long-term political solutions.

“Our role is to prevent escalation and ensure the safety of farmers and peacekeepers,” he said.

Siddique told the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday that calm had been restored after an altercation between Turkish forces and Greek Cypriot farmers. Unficyp personnel were sent to the area, and both sides agreed to retreat from the buffer zone.

Calls for a stronger presence

Two weeks before the altercation, Alexandrou asked Unficyp to be “more noticeable” around Denia during a meeting with the force’s chief, Khassim Diagne.

He called for more patrols and intervention in buffer zone incidents, saying Unficyp should not remain an observer and that its presence should also be imposed on the Turkish side.

Farmland disputes

While much recent buffer zone tension has centred on Pyla, near Larnaca, the area between Nicosia and Morphou, where Denia is located, has also seen periodic tensions.

Disagreements between Greek Cypriot farmers and Turkish forces over the use of farmland south of nearby Avlona, a Turkish Cypriot village, arose earlier this year and have become more frequent in recent months.

In July, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Unficyp had “developed an internal action plan to address these challenges sustainably and comprehensively”.

In April, Turkish Cypriot police officers in Avlona mistakenly believed a Greek Cypriot farmer had crossed beyond the buffer zone and moved to intercept him. Unficyp peacekeepers intervened to defuse the situation.