Rocks thrown at Turkish Cypriots on Eoka anniversary

Rocks were thrown across the buffer zone at Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia on Wednesday, with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman keen to point out that the incident took place on the anniversary of the creation of Eoka.

Video footage of the incident shows a man clad in black on Markos Drakos street, which sits below the city walls’ Roccas bastion, which itself is under Turkish Cypriot control, throwing projectiles at people stood in the park atop the bastion.

A second video shows a larger group of men clad in black on Paphos street, inside the walls, near the Roccas bastion, though it does not show any of the group throwing projectiles.

Erhurman wrote in a post on social media that “rocks and explosives” had been thrown at people in the park, and that he had contacted both the Greek Cypriot side and the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) about the incident.

“It is unacceptable that no precautions were taken in such an area on a day like April 1, when the possibility of such incidents could have been anticipated by anyone,” he said.

He said he condemns “those who carried out the attack”, and that he expects both Unficyp and the Greek Cypriot side “to take the necessary steps as quickly as possible and share information with our authorities”.

“We will follow up to ensure that the Greek Cypriot … authorities immediately initiate the necessary judicial investigation and that those who carried out this attack are subject to the necessary legal proceedings,” he said.

He confirmed that no people had been harmed in the incident.