Guterres expresses ‘deep concern’ over advances into Pyla buffer zone

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed “deep concern” over advances made by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot personnel into the buffer zone near the village of Pyla, near Larnaca, in an advance copy of his latest report on the status of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) seen by the Cyprus Mail on Sunday. “The authorities in the north have claimed that a part of the plateau falls under their authority. Since early February, Turkish Cypriot police have imposed access restrictions on civilians, and on one occasion detained a Greek Cypriot individual, who was released shortly thereafter,” he said. As such, he said that the situation in the buffer zone is “fragile”, particularly in the Pyla area, while also pointing out that in April, the Turkish Cypriot presence in the area near the village was “further reinforced through the gradual deployment of static vehicles’ present at key locations in the buffer zone”. “Unficyp took immediate operational measures to deter further Turkish Cypriot police incursions into this part of the buffer zone by augmenting its presence and monitoring capability on the plateau, including increasing the number of patrols and maintaining a permanent deployment,” he said. He added that “tensions peaked” in April when “Turkish forces amassed a convoy of 15 armed personnel vehicles on the northern ceasefire line, outside of the buffer zone, overmanned a nearby observation post with approximately 20 soldiers, and began deploying some uniformed deploying uniformed Turkish Cypriot police personnel”. These personnel, he said, were deployed “in the part of the buffer zone that the authorities in the north claim is under control”. The Turkish vehicles near the buffer zone in April He went on to say that “these developments occurred against a backdrop of continued hardening of the Turkish Cypriot position with respect to the United Nations’ mandated authority, particularly concerning the delineation of this section of the buffer zone”. “The mission continues to engage with the Turkish Cypriot authorities with a view to de-escalating tensions and restoring the status quo ante,” he added. He also made reference to the mutual understanding which was reached in 2023 regarding the construction of a road connecting the buffer zone village of Pyla to the nearby Turkish Cypriot village of Arsos, as well as residential properties and a solar farm, and which has been frozen since the November of that year. On this front, he said that Unficyp is “reviewing options for a way forward”. Nonetheless, he said the situation in the area “remains of deep concern”, stressing “the need for all parties to abide by the United Nations’ impartial delineation of the buffer zone”, which, he said, is “the only delineation recognised by the security council”. “While Unficyp plays an essential role in de-escalating tensions and safeguarding the integrity of the buffer zone, its ability to curb unauthorised activity is limited without the full cooperation of the sides,” he said. To this end, he said that he encourages both sides “to engage with Unficyp with an open mind as the mission redoubles its efforts to find a possible way forward on the arrangements for the Pya plateau”. File photo: Pyla village centre The Greek Cypriot side was also singled out for criticism regarding its own actions in the Pyla area, with the report writing that the University of Central Lancashire’s campus “continued to operate in the buffer zone without authorisation from Unficyp”. This notwithstanding, the head of that university’s law school, Stephanie Laulhe-Shaelou was on Friday appointed as one of the 11 advocates-general to the European Court of Justice. Guterres also wrote in his report that “criminality associated with the 11 illegal casinos and one illegal nightclub” in the village “persisted”, and that “to contribute to public safety, Unficyp maintained its community-oriented policing foot patrols throughout the village”. Away from the matter of Pyla, he also made reference to budget cuts faced by the UN, saying that “contingency measures directed at reducing peacekeeping expenditure continued to be implemented”. “To address the effects of a reduced workforce and [to] improve operational effectiveness, the mission adjusted patrolling patterns and increased its use of joint, intelligence-led patrols focused on recurring hotspots,” he said. He stressed that “liquidity constraints have had a concrete impact on Unficyp, including a hiring freeze, temporary limitations on aviation use, deferment of acquisitions, reduced training, and constraints on official travel”. “The mission’s ability to implement key infrastructure projects, such as perimeter fencing to enhance the security of UN personnel and premises, was also curtailed. These measures were implemented to protect core-mandate activities, notably ensuring safety, security, and stability in the buffer zone,” he said. He also said that “no steps” have been taken to reduce actions taken in Varosha since 2020, and that instead, four “prefabricated concrete firing positions” have been added south of the abandoned Famagusta suburb by the Turkish forces. Additionally, he said that Unficyp’s access to Varosha “has remained significantly constrained”, and that “the United Nations continues to hold the government of Turkey responsible for the situation in Varosha”. Likewise, in the village of Strovilia, near Famagusta, he wrote, “the mission’s freedom of movement remains limited”. On a more general note, he lamented that “both sides have embarked on a programme to install military-grade surveillance systems” along the buffer zone in recent years, but did note that the rate of such systems’ installation has slowed since the turn of the year. He also lamented that “no action was taken by the Republic of Cyprus’ authorities to reverse the policy requiring civilian buildings along the southern ceasefire line to incorporate military positions”. “Not only are such installations violations of the ceasefire line, they also dangerously blur the distinction between civilian and military facilities,” he warned. Additionally, he said there has been no “tangible progress” in efforts to demine the island. On the matter of the village of Avlona, between Nicosia and Morphou, where disagreements between Greek Cypriot farmers and Turkish forces over rights to use the land have increased in frequency in recent months, he said that Unficyp has “developed an internal action plan to address these challenges sustainably and comprehensively”. He also warned of “unauthorised hunting, particularly … involving the use of firearms in the buffer zone”, which he said has “continued to occur with high frequency despite Unficyp’s repeated protests to the Republic of Cyprus”. File photo