President Erhürman: We expect both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and the Greek Cypriot leadership to take all necessary action to ensure that those responsible for this attack are brought to justice

President Tufan Erhürman stated in a written statement that, according to information received from the Security Forces Command, a group on the southern side threw stones and explosive materials at civilians at Yiğitler Burcu in Lefkoşa at around 1:30pm on Wednesday.

President Erhürman stressed that they expect both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and the Greek Cypriot leadership to take the necessary action as swiftly as possible and to share all relevant information with the competent authorities.

The statement of President Erhürman reads as follows:

“According to the information and data received from our Security Forces Command, stones and explosive materials were thrown at our civilian citizens located at Yiğitler Burcu in Lefkoşa by a group on the southern side at around 1.30pm on Wednesday. 

As this incident occurred in an area that falls under the control of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force due to its buffer zone status, and also under the responsibility of the Greek Cypriot leadership as a road used by the public, contact has been established with both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and our counterparts in the south.

On a day such as 1 April, when the possibility of such incidents can be reasonably anticipated by all concerned, it is unacceptable that no measures were taken in the area.

We strongly condemn the perpetrators of this attack and call on both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and the Greek Cypriot leadership to take all necessary action without delay, whilst ensuring that all relevant information is shared with our competent authorities.

We will closely monitor whether the competent authorities of the Greek Cypriot leadership promptly initiate the necessary judicial investigation and ensure that those responsible for this attack are brought to justice in accordance with the law.

No civilians were harmed in the incident. We once again strongly condemn those responsible for this attack, emphasise that the failure to take the necessary measures on a day such as this is unacceptable, and reiterate that we will closely monitor the actions of both the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and the Greek Cypriot leadership.”