Cyprus lodges complaint with UN over buffer zone breach report
The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus submitted a complaint to the United Nations on Tuesday, asking it to investigate reports that a Greek-Cypriot farmer had been harassed by armed Turkish soldiers while grazing his sheep in the buffer zone between the two sides of the divided island.
According to the Cyprus Mail, the incident took place on Monday evening in the buffer zone in the area of Deneia and was reported by a local farmer who had a license to graze his sheep there.
Citing the head of the Deneia community, Christakis Panayiotou, the Cyprus Mail said that the farmer was commanded to leave the area by Turkish soldiers, who came down from their watchtowers and chased him off.
One of the soldiers allegedly armed his weapon, while the farmer said they went as far as to throw rocks at him.
Urging calm, the UN peacekeeping force on Cyprus, UNFICYP, said that “we need to allow the investigation to be completed before making any conclusions.”
“The safety of civilians inside the UN buffer zone remains our top priority,” it said in a post on Twitter.
