US and allies condemn attack on UN peacekeepers by Turkish Cypriots

The United States, France and the United Kingdom condemned the attack on United Nations (UN) peacekeepers by Turkish Cypriot forces on Friday, calling the attacks a “serious crime under international law.”

“We condemn the attacks on UN peacekeepers and the damage to UN vehicles by personnel from the Turkish Cypriot side this morning,” the embassies said in a joint statement. “Threats to the security of UN peacekeeping forces and damage to UN property constitute a serious crime under international law.”

The UN, in a statement, said peacekeeping forces stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the northern Turkish Cypriot village of Arsos with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, located inside the buffer zone. It is also close to the area where the internationally recognized government of Cyprus is located, according to The Associated Press.

The group of Turkish Cypriot personnel in response reportedly punched and kicked the peacekeepers and damaged vehicles belonging to them, according to the UN.

The road, if built, would bypass a checkpoint on the northern fringe of a British military base and allow Turkish Cypriots direct access to Pyla.

The three countries urged the authorities to halt construction and respect the mandated authority of UNFICYP, the peacekeeping organization, which it has in the area.

In their statement, the three countries called the attacks “completely unacceptable” and undermined the UN’s ability to “fulfill its peacekeeping mandate.”

“We call on the Turkish Cypriot authorities to refrain from any further escalating action that risks undermining prospects for a return to settlement talks, and to immediately cease any form of violence against Turkish peacekeepers. the UN deployed in the area,” the countries wrote.

The Turkish Cypriot authorities blamed the UN peacekeepers for their altercation, calling the peacekeepers’ actions “unacceptable. they also fired UNFICYP statement on the attacks as “baseless accusations” and accused the peacekeeping force of being “biased” towards them.

Associated Press contributed to this report.