‘All parties have left area’ after Denia buffer zone confrontation

All parties have now left the area following a brief confrontation between Turkish military forces and Greek Cypriot farmers in the buffer zone near the Nicosia district village of Denia, United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) spokesman Aleem Siddique said on Saturday.

He told the Cyprus Mail that Turkish forces had “approached” farmers near Denia on Saturday morning, and that UN peacekeepers “attended the scene to diffuse tensions”.

With all parties now having left the area, he said, “the situation remains calm and we are continuing to monitor the area closely”.

“Preventing tensions remains our most important priority,” he said.

The buffer zone near Denia has historically been a point of contention between the island’s two sides, with the village’s mukhtar Christakis Panayiotou reporting “threats” made by Turkish soldiers and other disagreements having taken place in the buffer zone near his village over the years.

Last year, he said he believed Turkish forces were “constructing an anti-tank trench estimated to be four to five metres wide and three to four metres deep”.

On that occasion, Siddique later told the Cyprus Mail that Unficyp was “in contact with the mukhtar to reassure him that the status of the buffer zone remains unchanged”.

“Peacekeepers are in the area to deal with any challenges which may arise,” he said.