United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

Decades on from the ethnic division of Cyprus, tensions persist along the 180-kilometer buffer zone separating breakaway Turkish Cypriots from Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognized south, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping force on the island said Monday.

Türkiye has expressed its discontent with the recent decision by the U.N. to extend the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Cyprus "without consulting the Turkish Cypriot side."

UN peacekeepers on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus are reportedly keeping a close eye on recent Turkish Cypriot activity in the buffer zone between the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-occupied north, following tension in August over Turkish Cypriot efforts to build a road traversing United Nations-controlled territory.

Nicosia reiterated on Thursday that it will not stand for any moves that cast doubt on the status of the UN-controlled buffer zone through which the Turkish Cypriots illegally tried to build a road last week and physically assaulted international peacekeepers who tried to obstruct them.

Turkish Cypriot authorities have announced the continuation of road construction plans aimed at linking the ethnically mixed Pyla village in the buffer zone with the mainland, following a recent altercation with United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping forces in the region.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Saturday described as "essential" the construction of a road which has triggered rare tension with United Nations peacekeepers on the divided island.

The assault on Friday against members of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) by Turkish Cypriots, after they attempted to block unauthorized road construction works inside the buffer zone near Pyla, "is absolutely condemnable,"the main opposition said in a statement.

UN peacekeepers on Cyprus have condemned an assault on its personnel and damage to its vehicles "by personnel from the Turkish Cypriot side" on Friday morning.

In a statement, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) said the incident took place inside the buffer zone near Pyla as its peacekeepers blocked unauthorized construction work in the area.

The UN mission in ethnically divided Cyprus said Thursday it will block construction by Turkish Cypriots of a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone and likely raise tensions on the Mediterranean island nation.

The UN Security Council just renewed the mandate for UNFICYP - the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus - for another year instead of for six months. The renewal comes amid controversy over the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Cyprus, and is also occurring less than a week before the first round of presidential elections in Cyprus.