Unficyp vehicles were still in the Frenaros-Vrysoulles buffer zone on Saturday morning, after tension escalated on Friday between peacekeepers and farmers cultivating their land.
The UN filed a formal police report on Friday after two peacekeepers were injured and three UN vehicles were damaged during a confrontation with Greek Cypriot farmers.
Police have finished obtaining witness recounts from the peacekeepers and will now summon the farmers to testify, according to the Cyprus News Agency.
The farmers may be facing charges of assault, malicious damage and disturbance.
Unficyp military and police personnel remained at the point until 4.30pm on Friday. On Saturday morning, six UN vehicles with 15 peacekeepers arrived with orders not to allow the farmers cultivate their land.
In a written statement on Friday, Unficyp said “farming near the ceasefire lines inside the UN buffer zone is strictly prohibited and risks provoking tensions.”
Sources confirmed that there is unrest among farmers with fields within the buffer zone.
The fracas began on Friday morning when a group of farmers in Dherynia’s buffer zone forced their way through a UN blockade to cultivate land near the Frenaros–Vrysoulles area. Unficyp clarified that no permits had been granted for such activities. However, one farmer, Paschalis Paschali, claimed he had received approval from the UN on Wednesday.
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