Pyla-Arsos road construction continues outside buffer zone

Construction work on the road between the villages of Pyla and Arsos resumed on Thursday, with works taking place outside the buffer zone near Arsos.

Rumours surfaced among Turkish Cypriot sources that an agreement regarding the construction of the road in its entirety had been reached between the Turkish Cypriot side and the United Nations.

However, UN Peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) spokesman Aleem Siddique told the Cyprus Mail “we are not able to confirm or deny any reports at the moment. When an agreement has been reached, we will announce it”.

The saga surrounding attempted construction of a road between Pyla and Arsos has been ongoing for a month, after the north’s ‘foreign ministry’ announced plans to unilaterally begin construction in the buffer zone on August 17.

Unficyp pledged to block access to the road but were forced out of the way by Turkish Cypriot personnel the following day, with one peacekeeper being punched in the face.

Condemnation of the move poured in from across the globe, and discussions between both sides of Cyprus and the UN regarding the road have been ongoing since.