Turks threatened Greek Cypriot shepherd with a gun and threw stones at him

Armed Turkish soldiers chased a Greek Cypriot farmer from the dead zone in Denia on Monday while he was grazing his sheep, throwing stones at him. The United Nations peacekeeping force is investigating the incident, its spokesman Aleem Siddique told KYPE.

The community leader of Denia, Christakis Panagiotou, reported to KYPE that there is also a video recording of what happened in the area. He added that the incident took place 500 metres inside the dead zone.

Panagiotou said that at around 6 pm, six Turkish soldiers came down from their posts with weapons in their hands and asked the Greek Cypriot farmer to leave, threatening him. One soldier even armed and pointed his weapon, he added.

The head of the Denias community said that the local farmer has a license to work in the area.

"They shouted at him and threw stones at him and finally they kicked him out. When the incident happened, he notified us by phone and showed a related video," he added.

Asked about this, Panagiotou said that at that moment there were no United Nations peacekeepers in the area.

Community leader Denias said that a complaint about the incident was made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations and the National Guard.

The press representative of UNFICYP, Aleem Siddique, when asked about this, told KYPE that the peacekeeping force is investigating the incident.

He added that the safety of civilians within the dead zone remains the highest priority for the peacekeeping force.

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