Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Miroslav Jenca, paid a visit to the Peacekeeping Force of the United Nations, stationed in the eastern part of the UN's buffer zone near Pyla.

The UN Cyprus mission shared the visit on Platform X (formerly Twitter), highlighting statements made by Jenca during his visit at the location.

"Proud to meet the UNFICYP peacekeepers from Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Argentina, as well as the United Nations Police (UNPOL) and civilian personnel. We are inspired by their professionalism, commitment, and service for peace in Cyprus," said Jenca.

The visit comes one week after members of the UN Security Council condemned, the incidents in the buffer zone, in the village of Pyla, in Larnaca district, with assaults against UN peacekeepers, reiterating their full support for UNFICYP .

They condemned the attacks on UN peacekeepers and the damage to UN vehicles by personnel of the occupation regime and wished a speedy and full recovery to the peacekeepers who were injured. They emphasized that "attacks against peacekeepers may constitute crimes under international law and reaffirmed their full commitment to the safety of all UN personnel."

On Friday August 18, 2023 men of the occupation regime punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would encroach on a U.N. controlled buffer zone.

The attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the Turkish occupied village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency