Cyprus has significantly upgraded surveillance along the Green Line over the past three years, with modern cameras and audiovisual equipment now monitoring the buffer zone around the clock, sources with knowledge of the matter told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
Monitoring is carried out jointly by the Ministry of Defence and the police through the National Guard, the sources said, with liaison officers embedded in UNFICYP available when needed.
“We have various audiovisual means, cameras and other equipment at specific points, and surveillance is continuous and on a 24-hour basis. The National Guard has specific instructions and cooperation with UNFICYP is constant and close — when anything is detected, liaison officers communicate with each other about next steps and how to act,” the sources said.
Where cameras installed over the past three years detect suspicious movement, the National Guard alerts police, the sources explained. The wire fencing previously in place along the line has been fully removed, except in areas where the terrain makes removal impossible, such as ravines.
The sources noted that Pyla operates under a special regime — it is controlled by the UN and has no entry or exit checkpoint or roadblock. Some other areas, possibly due to terrain, are considered problematic and cannot be fully monitored, such as Avlona.
“We have upgraded and we are trying to make monitoring effective and immediate. Many things are not publicised for obvious reasons,” the sources said.
UNFICYP’s role in the buffer zone
The Green Line — the line of confrontation dividing the island — stretches approximately 180 kilometres across Cyprus. In parts of old Nicosia it is only a few metres wide; in other areas it extends to several kilometres.
The line was first established on December 30, 1963, and takes its name from the green pencil used by the then-commander of British forces in Cyprus, General Young, to draw it on a map. At that point it covered only Nicosia and later areas where Turkish Cypriot enclaves existed. UN troops arrived in March 1964 and have patrolled it since. It was extended significantly after Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus.
In the eastern part of the island the line is interrupted by the British Bases area of Dhekelia, where UNFICYP does not operate. Varosha is also outside UN control, now under the control of the Turkish occupation army.
Much of the buffer zone is farmed or inhabited. More than 10,000 people live and/or work in villages and special areas within the neutral zone, which civilians may enter freely. In other parts, movement requires a special UNFICYP permit. Pyla, in the eastern buffer zone, is the only village inhabited by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The buffer zone is also considered a haven for flora and fauna, thriving in the near-absence of hunters and most other human activity.
According to the UNFICYP website, updated in November and December 2025, the mission monitors the buffer zone continuously through vehicle, foot, bicycle and helicopter patrols, with a dedicated unit on standby for emergencies. Around 1,000 incidents occur within the buffer zone each year. Approximately 802 troops currently serve on a rotational basis, drawn mainly from Argentina, the United Kingdom, Slovakia and Hungary. Four central units are stationed in the UN Protected Area.
Sectors 1, 2 and 4
UNFICYP’s military presence is organised across three sectors — Sectors 1, 2 and 4. Sector 3 ceased to exist when Canada withdrew from the mission in 1993, with its area absorbed by Sectors 2 and 4. Following a troop review and reduction in 2004, peacekeepers no longer man permanent fixed positions but instead patrol by foot, vehicle, bicycle and helicopter.
The mission’s helicopter unit, under Argentine command, provides 24-hour surveillance along the buffer zone and emergency assistance, operating three helicopters from Nicosia International Airport.
Sector 1 covers approximately 90 kilometres from the village of Kokkina on the western coast to Mammari, west of Nicosia, and has been under Argentine command since October 16, 1993. The sector headquarters and command company are at Camp San Martín, near Skouriotissa, with a support company at Camp Roca near Xeros to the north. The Argentine contingent rotates roughly every six months.
Sector 2, the responsibility of British Armed Forces since 1993 when Canada withdrew its main unit, covers more than 30 kilometres from the eastern edge of Mammari to Kaimakli, east of Nicosia. Sector headquarters is at Wolseley Barracks within the buffer zone near the western end of the Venetian Walls, with troops based at the Ledra Palace Hotel.
Sector 4 has been under Slovak Armed Forces command since 2018 and covers 65 kilometres from the eastern edge of Kaimakli to Deryneia on the eastern coast. A platoon is based in Athienou covering the western half of the sector; a second is based in Deryneia covering the eastern half, including the abandoned town of Varosha. A third platoon is based in Pyla, responsible for monitoring military activity in the mixed village. The British Base near Dhekelia, between Pyla and Strovilia, falls outside the mission’s area of responsibility.
UN Police
UN Police (UNPOL) has been part of the peacekeeping mission since April 14, 1964. It comprises 69 officers from 16 countries, supported by civilian staff. UNPOL officers are based in the UN Protected Area and eight other locations across the island, within or near the buffer zone. UNPOL has no powers of arrest or detention.
Crossing points
Since April 2003, several crossing points have opened across the island: two in the British Bases area at Pergamos and Strovilia; three in Nicosia at Agios Demetrios/Metehan, Ledra Palace and Ledra Street; one west of Nicosia at Astromeritis/Zodia; and one at the western tip of the island at Pyrgos-Limnitis/Yeşilırmak.
Two additional crossing points opened on November 12, 2018 — the eastern Deryneia crossing and the Lefka/Apliki crossing.