Turkish occupation troops tried to force Greek Cypriot farmers to leave their fields in the buffer zone at Deneia on Wednesday morning, the community leader said.
Charalambos Alexandrou told the programme ‘Mera Mesimeri’ that the soldiers approached the farmers when they noticed them and tried to make them go. The farmers carried on working. After the UN was called to the scene, they continued ploughing under its supervision.
UNFICYP spokesman Aleem Siddique said in a written statement that peacekeepers were sent to the scene immediately after reports of a violation in the Deneia area of the UN buffer zone.
He said they went to de-escalate tension and restore calm, and that UNFICYP was continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure the status quo was maintained.
“The farmers are not taking a step back. They will plough their land forever,” Alexandrou said. He added that incidents of harassment happen every day.
