Livestock farmers have blocked a road on the route President Nikos Christodoulides is expected to use to travel to Ayia Napa, as tensions at the Rizoelia roundabout peaked on Thursday afternoon. Long queues of vehicles have formed in the area.
The escalation came after consultations between the government and farmer representatives were suspended following fresh road closures at the junction. According to information received, Justice Minister Costas Fytiris informed Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou of the situation and a decision was taken to suspend the talks.
Tensions had flared earlier when Fytiris arrived at the roundabout and asked farmers to reopen a lane for safety reasons. Farmers responded by fully closing the upper section of the roundabout and blocking Larnaca port for a period, trapping drivers in the process.
Farmers subsequently agreed to let trapped drivers through but issued a one-hour ultimatum on the consultations, warning they would extend their action to Larnaca airport if their demands were not met.
The protests centre on the mass culling of livestock ordered as part of measures to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Earlier in the day, Panayiotou had invited a three-member farmers’ delegation to the ministry for consultations.
Earlier in the day, Panayiotou had invited a three-member farmers’ delegation to the ministry for consultations. Farmers had briefly reopened one lane as a goodwill gesture before closing the junction again around 4 pm, saying they had received no update on the talks.
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