United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions. ==Deployment==

UNFICYP is headquartered from the Blue Beret Camp next to the abandoned airport of Nicosia. The current force commander is Lieutenant General Mohammad Asadullah Minhazul Alam of Bangladesh. Force Commander of United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. Prior to 1974 Upon UNFICYP's arrival on the island, the national contingents were each assigned a sector, which mostly coincided with the boundaries of the civil districts: • Paphos District – Austrian contingent • Lefka District (consisting of the Western part of Nicosia District) – Danish contingent • Limassol Zone (consisting of Limassol District New Zealand contingent and the Western half of Larnaka District) – British contingent • Nicosia District – Canadian contingent • Larnaca Sector (consisting of the Eastern half of Larnaka District) – Irish contingent • Kyrenia District – Finnish contingent • Famagusta District – Swedish contingent When, in October 1973, the Irish contingent was withdrawn from Cyprus in support of the United Nations Emergency Force during the Yom Kippur War, the Austrian contingent was relocated from Paphos District (which was subsequently absorbed by the British contingent) to Larnaca District to replace them, with the Western half, which had previously been patrolled by the British contingent, absorbed into the Austrian sector. Since 1993 Contingent's San Martin Camp As of 31 May 2012, the total strength (military personnel and civilian police) of UNFICYP was 926 individuals. The 858 military personnel were from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Hungary, Paraguay, Peru, Serbia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. UNFICYP's military personnel are mostly divided up into national contingents, with each major contingent being responsible for one of the buffer zone's three remaining sectors. The Argentine contingent includes soldiers from the Argentine military forces, including the Argentine Army and the Argentine Marines, as well as from Brazil, Paraguay and Chile; whereas the Slovak contingent includes soldiers from Croatia. • Sector 2 starts at Mammari, west of Nicosia and covers 30 kilometres to Kaimakli, east of Nicosia. Since 1993, has been the responsibility of the 183-strong British contingent, which deploys using the name Operation TOSCA. • Sector 4 (the actual 3rd Sector, but because of UNFICYP history still named Sector 4) starts at Kaimakli, east of Nicosia and covers 65 Kilometres to the village of Dhernia, on the east coast of Cyprus. Since 1993, it has been the responsibility of the Slovakian and Hungarian contingent with 202 Soldiers. In addition to the main sector contingents, there are several other military units under UNFICYP command, including: • Military Observer Liaison Officers – involved at all levels across the Force in daily negotiations and liaison functions with both opposing forces (OPFOR). • Mobile Force Reserve (MFR) – high readiness reserve able to react to any incident anywhere on the island. Formed from the Permanent Force Reserve in 1997, the unit is composed of Argentinean, British, Hungarian and Slovakian peacekeepers, a mix of customs and cultures, where the four different nationalities work together. From 1997 until their departure in 2001 a select contingent of each rotation of Austrian soldiers was part of the MFR. The unit is equipped with Alvis Tactica APCs, which are armed with general-purpose machine guns. The MFR is trained in public order and major incident reaction techniques. In addition, the MFR is also trained for air mobile operations using Bell 212 helicopters to rapidly insert into trouble areas. • The UN Flight (ARGAIR) They use Hughes 500 and Bell 212 helicopters and, by 2003, had logged a total of 10,000 flight hours without accident. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was brought in and out of Lebanon by one of their helicopters. • Force Engineers – engineering support to UNFICYP is provided by the Integrated Support Services (ISS) and consists of the Chief Engineer (CE), the Force Engineer (FE), the Force Engineer HQ Unit, Support Services Workshop Units, (SSWU) Sector Engineers and Engineering Elements from each contingent. ==Buffer Zone==

's Paphos Gate The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarised zone, patrolled by UNFICYP, that was established in 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and de facto partitions the island into the area controlled by the Government of Cyprus (which is the de jure government for the entire island save for the British Sovereign Base Areas) in the south and that under the illegal Turkish occupation in the north. The zone runs for more than along what is colloquially known as the Green Line and has an area of . The zone stretches for 180 km from the western part of near Kato Pyrgos to the east just south of Famagusta. It cuts through the center of the old town of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. There is also a buffer zone around the Kokkina exclave in western Cyprus. The width of the zone ranges from in central Nicosia, to at the village of Athienou. There is no buffer zone along the common border between the eastern British Sovereign Base Area and the area under the Republic of Cyprus control or Turkish Army control. The buffer zone is home to some 10,000 people and there are several villages and farms located within. The village of Pyla is famous for being the only village in Cyprus where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots live side by side. Other villages are Dhenia, Mammari, Athienou and Troulli while Lymbia lies partially within the zone. Turkish forces built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. This line is also referred to as the Attila Line on some maps, named after the Turkish code-name for the 1974 military invasion: Operation Atilla. The closed off zone has become a haven for Cyprus' wildlife, an example of an involuntary park. ==Finances==

The annual cost for maintaining UNFICYP is estimated at $57,390,000. This includes the voluntary contribution by the Government of Cyprus of one third of the cost of the force and the annual amount of $6,500,000 contributed by the Government of Greece. Turkey does not directly contribute to the force's budget. The operational cost of UNFICYP just during the period from 16 June 1993 to 31 October 2010 was US$2.91 billion. ==Controversies==

Neutrality of UNFICYP UNFICYP's neutrality mandate dictates the erasure of signs, flags, and emblems in spaces under its authority. The fact that a third of UNFICYP's budget is covered by one party to the conflict (RoC; i.e., the Greek Cypriots) and one Guarantor (Greece) calls into question the UN's neutrality and constitutes “a conflict of interest" One interlocutor acknowledged that the way the budget of UNFICYP is organized "opens [UNFICYP] to criticism." One added: "How can we be impartial if we take part of the budget from one side?" In January 2022, around a handball match between Cyprus and Turkey in the qualification for the 2024 European Championship, the decision of the Greek Cypriots not to allow a Turkish player who had tested positive with COVID-19 to be brought to Northern Cyprus with all the safety measures taken was criticized by the de facto TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry also criticized the UNFICYP for not playing a "facilitating role" to in the Turkish team's request, claiming "UNFICYP has moved away from the principle of neutrality, which is one of the most fundamental elements of peace operations, and has become a symbol of the status quo that serves the interests of the Greek Cypriot side." The player was eventually flown to Turkey instead. Soydemir noted that "not the organization but the individuals can be affected by this approach and their neutrality might be hampered naturally." Removal of UNFICYP from Northern Cyprus In July 2018, the Turkish Cypriot president, Mustafa Akinci, called for a separate State of Force Agreement (SOFA) between Northern Cyprus and UNFICYP, and sent a letter to the UN Security Council for the reassessment of the UNFICYP's mandate and stated that UNFICYP continues to cooperate with the authorities of Northern Cyprus absent a legal basis and specified that Northern Cyprus stood ready to prepare a document with the UN dealing with all aspects of their relations. In October 2022, UNFICYP was given an ultimatum by Northern Cyprus (the de facto administration in the north) demanding it recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or to leave the 2 bases it currently has in the north. Ersin Tatar, the president of Northern Cyprus, stated that in line with the Brahimi Report of the UN, the consent of Northern Cyprus for the stationing of UNFICYP is a must. Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, the foreign minister of Northern Cyprus, stated that the deadline for the ultimatum for requesting the approval of Northern Cyprus for the operations of UNFICYP in Northern Cyprus is the end of October 2022. On 28 September 2023, Turkey called for a written agreement between Northern Cyprus and UNFICYP regarding relations between the two. Turkey said "An agreement is necessary to delimit the functions of UNFICYP vis a vis its interactions with Northern Cyprus. The attitude and practice of double standards by UNFICYP regarding the sovereignty of the TRNC and regarding the most fundamental humanitarian needs of Turkish Cypriots, are incompatible with UNFICYP’s obligation to remain neutral and they damage its prestige. In this context, it was noted that once again the need has arisen for the activities of the peacekeeping forces in the TRNC to be placed on a legal basis through a written agreement with the authorities of the TRNC. Turkey will continue to guarantee security and peace for Turkish Cypriots in the context of Turkey’s rights emanating from international law and treaties." ==See also==