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The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarised zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established in 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and ''de facto'' partitions the island into the area controlled by the Government of Cyprus (which is the ''de jure'' government for the entire island save for the British Sovereign Base Areas) in the South and that under the administration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the North. The zone runs for more than along what is colloquially known as the Green Line and varying between less than 20 metres and more than 7 kilometres wide has an area of . The zone stretches for from the western part of near Kato Pyrgos to the east just south of Famagusta. It cuts through the centre of the old town of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. There is also a buffer zone around the Kokkina exclave in western Cyprus. The width of the zone ranges from few metres or feet in central Nicosia, to at the village of Athienou. There is no buffer zone along the common border between the eastern British Sovereign Base Area and the area under Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot control. Some 10,000 people live in several villages and work on farms located within the zone;〔http://www.unficyp.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1592&tt=graphic&lang=L1〕 the village of Pyla is famous for being the only village on Cyprus where Greeks and Turks live side by side. Other villages are Deneia, Athienou and Troulloi, while Lympia and Mammari lie partially within the zone. Turkish forces built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. This line is also referred to as the Attila Line,〔(Oxford References: ''Attila Line'' )〕 named after the Turkish code-name for the 1974 military intervention: Operation Atilla. The closed off zone has become a haven for Cyprus' wildlife, an example of an involuntary park. ==History== A buffer zone in Cyprus was first established in 1964, when Major-General Peter Young was the commander of the British peace force (a predecessor of the present UN force) set up in the wake of the intercommunal violence of the early 1960s. After stationing his troops in different areas of Nicosia, the general drew a cease-fire line on a map with a green crayon, which was to become known as the "Green Line". The Green Line became impassable following the July 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus during which Turkey captured approximately 8% of Cypriot territory in response to a short-lived Greek Cypriot coup. A "security zone" was established after the Tripartite Conference of Geneva in July 1974. Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 353 (1974), the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom convened in Geneva, Switzerland, on 25 July 1974. According to UNFICYP, the text of the joint declaration transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations was as follows: The UN Security Council then adopted the above declaration with Resolution 355. When the coup dissolved, the Turkish Armed Forces advanced to capture approximately 37% of the island and met the "Green Line". The meandering Buffer Zone marks the southernmost points that the Turkish troops occupied during the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in August 1974, running between the cease fire lines of the Cypriot National Guard and Turkish army that ''de facto'' divides Cyprus into two, cutting through the capital of Nicosia. With the self-proclamation of the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Buffer Zone became its de facto southern border. Traffic across the buffer zone was very limited until 2003, when the number of crossings and the rules governing them were relaxed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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