Turkish Cypriot forces assault Cyprus peacekeepers: UN

International condemnation was expressed after Turkish Cypriot forces were charged with assaulting UN personnel on Friday while attempting to obstruct the construction of a contentious motorway in the buffer zone separating Cyprus.

In Pyla, an ethnically diverse village in the UN-patrolled region between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus in the south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north, a confrontation took place.

Bulldozers shoving away UN-branded SUVs, cement barriers, razor wire, and a group of Turkish Cypriot police shooing away soldiers in blue berets were all seen in a video that was extensively shared on social media. AFP was unable to independently confirm the video right away.

The UN mission said its peacekeepers were assaulted as they tried to block the “unauthorised construction work” near Pyla, the only village where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live side by side.

“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.

The UN head “stresses that threats to the safety of UN peacekeepers and damage to UN property are unacceptable and may constitute serious crimes under international law,” according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric.

A member of the European Union, Cyprus, condemned “organized incidents caused by the Turkish occupying forces… and the unacceptable attack against British and Slovak members of the UN peacekeeping force.”

Along with the United States, Britain, France, and the EU, who issued a joint statement expressing “serious concern at the launch of unauthorised construction” of the road, the EU also denounced the incident.

The authorities in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, who say the road project is aimed at easing the plight of its people, dismissed the UN mission’s allegations as “baseless”.

“Our expectation from UNFICYP… is to review its biased stance, put an immediate end to its physical interferences and blockage efforts” of the roadworks, the TRNC said in a statement.

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