Residents of only mixed village of Cyprus stranded due to COVID-19

An ongoing decision to keep the borders of the two administrations on Cyprus closed in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus has irked the residents of the village of Pyla, which is located in the buffer zone.

Pyla's Turkish and Greek Cypriot residents, who were unable to pass either to the south or the north of the island and could not meet many needs due to this, protested that the border gates remain closed.

The residents unfurled banners reading, "We are not refugees."

Expressing that they are forced to live an isolated life, the Turkish Cypriot neighborhood head (muhtar) of Pyla, Veysel Güden, said that they made a lot of effort to be a part of the Turkish Cypriot community and they had to deal with many protocols while facing health problems too.

Saying that they were excluded because of the outbreak, the head criticized both governments, noting that the states were not trustworthy.

Nestled in a salient of the U.N. Buffer Zone and adjacent to the British Base of Dhekelia, Pyla is the only mixed Turkish and Greek Cypriot village of the divided island.

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