Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhurman released a statement Wednesday condemning an attack by certain groups from the Greek Cypriot Administration who targeted civilians sitting in a park near the border area dividing the capital Lefkosa.
Erhurman also called on the UN and the Greek Cypriot Administration’s leadership to “urgently launch an investigation into the incident.”
In the statement, Erhurman recalled that around 13.30 pm (1030GMT), stones and explosives were thrown by a group gathered on the Greek Cypriot Administration side at TRNC citizens in Yigitler Bastion.
“This attack took place in an area that bears responsibility both for the Greek Cypriot leadership and for the UN Peacekeeping Force, as it is in the nature of a buffer zone and also used as a route by the UN Peacekeeping Force. Contact has been established with the UN Peacekeeping Force and our counterparts in the south regarding this incident. On a day like April 1, when such incidents could be anticipated by everyone, it is unacceptable that no precautions were taken in such an area,” Erhurman said.
He emphasized that they strongly condemn the attack.
“We will follow up to ensure that the authorized bodies of the Greek Cypriot leadership urgently initiate the necessary judicial investigation and that those who carried out this attack are subjected to the required legal proceedings,” he added.
On the side of Lefkosa controlled by the Greek Cypriot Administration, Greek Cypriot groups gathered Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the founding of the terrorist organization EOKA.
Around noon, they carried out an attack using stones, sticks and improvised explosives against civilians sitting in Yigitler Bastion on the TRNC side of Lefkosa, from the zero point of the border and the UN-controlled buffer zone.
Following the attack, TRNC police increased security measures in the area, while UN Peacekeeping Force soldiers also took security measures in the buffer zone.
A similar attack was carried out on April 1, 2025 in the same park by Greek Cypriot groups supporting the EOKA.
The EOKA terrorist organization was founded in the mid-1950s by Greek Cypriot-origin Greek officer Georgios Grivas, with the aim of ending Cyprus’s status as a “British crown colony” and achieving the union of the island with Greece through military operations.
After the end of British rule in Cyprus and the establishment of the “Republic of Cyprus,” EOKA attempted numerous massacres to expel Turks from the newly established state and also killed Greek Cypriots who did not share its views.
*Writing by Berk Kutay Gokmen in Istanbul