Livestock farmers have fully blocked the Rizoelia roundabout in all directions, pitching tents and parking trucks to prevent anyone from leaving, as protests over the foot-and-mouth disease cull showed no signs of easing on Thursday afternoon.
Dozens of drivers are trapped at the junction, with police attempting to redirect traffic through alternative roads. Police are making continuous appeals for the road to be reopened, but farmers are refusing to move.
Farmers had earlier attempted to block a road on the route President Nikos Christodoulides was expected to use to travel to Ayia Napa. The attempt failed and Christodoulides reached his destination.
The ordeal for trapped drivers has become severe, with some passengers abandoning their vehicles and crossing the Rizoelia junction on foot.
In one instance, a father carrying an infant in his arms walked through the area towards Larnaca, apparently having contacted someone to pick them up.
The escalation came after consultations between the government and farmer representatives were suspended. According to information received, Justice Minister Costas Fytiris informed Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou of the situation after fresh closures trapped drivers at the junction, and a decision was taken to suspend the talks.
Tensions had flared earlier in the day when Fytiris arrived at the roundabout and asked farmers to reopen a lane for safety reasons. Farmers responded by fully closing the upper section of the roundabout and briefly blocking Larnaca port. Farmers also threatened to move their protest to Larnaca airport.
The protests centre on the mass culling of livestock ordered to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Earlier in the day, Panayiotou had invited a three-member farmers’ delegation to the ministry for consultations.
Read more: