Team:Edinburgh/mapxmcyprus



Cyprus <![CDATA[ Cyprus is contaminated by landmines, both antipersonnel and antivehicle, and explosive remnants of war (ERW). The island has been divided geographically and politically by a heavily mined buffer zone since 1974 when Turkish forces took control of the north. Minefields were laid within and outside the buffer zone by both the Greek Cypriot National Guard and Turkish Armed Forces.

Cyprus’s 2004 National Plan for fulfillment of its Article 5 obligations asserted that there were, originally, seven National Guard minefields and one other suspected hazardous area (SHA) in the buffer zone, and 27 Turkish minefields in the buffer zone as well as minefields in Turkish-controlled areas.

The total size of all 29 remaining SHAs was less than 8km2, and contained some 20,000 mines. The extent of unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination was said to be “negligible.” This included 26 minefields laid by Turkish forces that were agreed for clearance in January 2008, 14 of which the MAC-C expected to clear before the end of 2008, and some SHAs for which access had still to be granted by the respective parties. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all National Guard minefields had been cleared within the buffer zone. However, whether three National Guard minefields were located inside or outside the buffer zone was the subject of ongoing discussion as of June 2008. Both sides dispute whether certain areas fall within the buffer zone.

Civilians are banned from government minefields south of the buffer zone. Clearance of the firing range at Paphos, however, will enable the land to be returned to its owner. Within the buffer zone, some of the areas cleared have been returned to their owners and limited cultivation has been taking place. In the Turkish-controlled north of the island, authorities have said that mines impact agricultural activities. Due to “security and border-related reasons,” farming in the buffer zone is not possible everywhere.

In 2007, no new mine casualties were reported in Cyprus. However, on 28 March 2008, a Mozambican demining team leader was seriously injured in an “avoidable accident” in a marked Turkish-laid minefield. This was the first landmine casualty since 2004, when a civilian was injured.

The total number of mine survivors in Cyprus is not known. Between 1993 and the end of 2007, two civilians and three deminers were killed by mines. In addition, UNFICYP reported that three UN peacekeepers were killed in mine incidents and several civilians were injured or killed.[81]

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