Calm has been restored in the buffer zone near the village of Denia, west of Nicosia, according to United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) spokesman Aleem Siddique on Wednesday, following an altercation involving Turkish forces and Greek Cypriot farmers.
Siddique told the Cyprus Mail that UNFICYP personnel were “dispatched immediately to deescalate tensions and restore calm” after the confrontation. He said that following the intervention, both sides agreed to withdraw from the buffer zone.
“UNFICYP continues to monitor the situation closely and restore the status quo,” he added.
The latest confrontation comes two weeks after Denia village mukhtar Charalambos Alexandrou called on UNFICYP to be “more noticeable” in the area surrounding the village during a meeting with the peacekeeping forces chief, Khassim Diagne.
“This can be done if UNFICYP increases its patrols, intervenes in incidents which occur in the buffer zone, and does not remain an observer, so that this can also be imposed on the Turkish side,” he said.
Although much of the recent tension surrounding the buffer zone has focused on the village of Pyla near Larnaca, the stretch of the buffer zone between Nicosia and Morphou, where Denia is located, has also experienced periods of increased tension.
Disputes between Greek Cypriot farmers and Turkish forces over access to and use of farmland south of the nearby village of Avlona, which lies in the occupied north, emerged earlier this year and have become more frequent in recent months.
On the issue, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in July that UNFICYP had “developed an internal action plan to address these challenges sustainably and comprehensively”.
In Avlona in April, Turkish Cypriot police officers mistakenly believed that a Greek Cypriot farmer had crossed into the north and moved to intercept him. UNFICYP peacekeepers intervened to diffuse the situation before it could escalate.
After all sides had established the precise location of the buffer zone’s boundaries, the Turkish Cypriot police officers withdrew and returned to the north.