ZONE TAMPON

Since 1964, the country has been separated by the buffer zone (νεκρtakeλννη/nekri zoni in Greek, bölge buffer in Turkish, buffer zone in English). This line stretches over 180 km between Morphou Bay and Famagusta District. It occupies 346 km ², with a width varying a few meters in the old town of Nicosia, more than 7 km in certain sectors. It is controlled by the peacekeepers.

" Green line ". The buffer zone of Cyprus is known as the «Green Line» (Πράσινη Γραμμvier/Prasini Grammi in Greek, Yeşil Hat in Turkish, Green Line in English). In December 1963, during the conflict between communities, British troops intervened in certain points. On December 30, one of their officers, General Peter Young (1912-1976), drew on a military map the route of a ceasefire line. For that he used a green pencil. The name's gone. And it was along this «green line» that Unficyp was deployed from March 4, 1964.

Blue helmets. Still active, the «United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus» is known as Unficyp (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus). It is one of the three oldest peacekeeping missions of the United Nations. Its HQ is located at the abandoned Nicosia airport. It has about one thousand military, police and civil servants from around twenty nations, including Argentina and the United Kingdom, the largest contributors.

" Dead "area but inhabited. The «green line» of 1963 was little or no respected by the Turkish army during the invasion of 1974. Secondly, it rarely opened up to the inhabitants on both sides for 29 years until the first crossing point was created in 2003. But, contrary to his name in Greek (nekri zoni, literally «dead zone») and barbed wire that framed it, the buffer zone is not completely empty. Some farmers are allowed to operate fields there. There are even 10,000 inhabitants. They reside in certain neighborhoods of Nicosia and in four villages: Denia, Athienou, Troulli and Pyla. The latter, located in the district of Larnaka, is one of the only places in the island or Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots still living together.