Guterres: “Greek Cypriot side dangerously blurs lines between civilian and military facilities”

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the Ministry of Defence of the Greek Cypriot administration is dangerously and deliberately blurring the lines between military and civilians by disguising military positions within civilian structures.

According to a news report by the Cyprus Mail newspaper published in South Cyprus, Guterres mentioned in the draft of his latest bi-annual report on the actions of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that the most recent example of this was at a research institution on the edge of the buffer zone in Nicosia.

In the report, Guterres wrote that the research institution in question had “received instructions from the defence ministry to incorporate reinforced firing ports in their perimeter wall”.

Guterres stated that UNFICYP continues to protest this policy with Greek Cypriot Administration authorities, emphasizing that “this is not only considered a military violation but also dangerously blurs the lines between civilian and military facilities.”

Guterres warned that “the policy of deliberately blurring the lines between military and civilians by disguising military positions within civilian structures raises serious humanitarian concerns, as it may put civilians at risk.”