British MP Theresa Villiers slams Pyla violence

“Attacks on UN peacekeeping forces in Cyprus are completely unacceptable, and I condemn them,” British Conservative MP Theresa Villiers posted on Instagram about the Pyla buffer zone violence.

“The Turkish authorities should respect the integrity of the UN buffer zone in Cyprus”, said Villiers, President of the Conservative Friends of Cyprus.

Villiers supported the joint statement issued by the British High Commission and the US and French embassies following incidents in the buffer zone.

A UN-controlled buffer zone separates the Turkish-occupied north from the government-controlled Republic.

Members of the Security Council condemned on Tuesday the assaults against UN peacekeepers in Pyla, reiterating their full support for UNFICYP.

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 August 18, Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked British and Slovak peacekeepers who obstructed crews illegally working on a road that would infringe the UN  buffer zone.

Four peacekeepers were injured and several vehicles damaged.

Nicosia perceives the road construction, which would link the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla with the village of Arsos in the breakaway north, as a move with a military purpose at a sensitive spot along the buffer zone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12436325/Footage-reveals-brutal-brawl-British-peacekeepers-attacked-Turkish-Cypriots-divided-island.html#v-283508540746415349