Nicosia (Cyprus), Aug 18 (AP) Angry Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews working on a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone in ethnically divided Cyprus, the UN said Friday.

It said the attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the village of Arsos in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, just south of the buffer zone and inside the Greek Cypriot south, where the island's internationally recognised government is seated.

Also Read | UK Killer Nurse Lucy Letby Faces Life Sentence For Murdering Seven Babies.

A video seen by the Associated Press showed scores of Turkish Cypriots accosting a much smaller group of Slovak and British UN soldiers trying to hold them back from starting work inside the buffer zone.

Some peacekeepers suffered blows to the face as they linked arms to push back the advancing Turkish Cypriots. The UN said three soldiers had to be treated for minor injuries.

Also Read | Jack Ma on Poverty in China: Rural Education Can Change Entire Poor Areas, Says Alibaba Founder.

The violence constitutes a serious escalation of tensions not seen on the island in years.

“Threats to the safety of UN peacekeepers and damage to UN property are unacceptable and constitute a serious crime under international law which will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” the peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, said in a statement.

UNFICYP spokesman Aleem Siddique told the Associated Press that the UN won't back down from continuing to “block or frustrate construction of the road by nonviolent means,” despite Friday's assault. He said construction of the road would violate the forces' mandate of maintaining the status quo inside the buffer zone.

The road would give Turkish Cypriots direct access to Pyla by circumventing a checkpoint on the northern fringe of British military base, one of two bases that the UK retained after Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

Greek Cypriots perceive the road construction as a move with a military purpose at a sensitive spot along the buffer zone that spans 180 kilometres (120 miles).

EU Council President Charles Michel and the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell both condemned the assaults and urged a de-escalation of the situation.

The embassies of the UK, France and the United Nations issued a joint statement expressing “serious concern” over construction of the road and condemned as “completely unacceptable” the assaults while urging for an immediate halt to the work.

Maintaining the status quo of the buffer zone is enshrined in the UN mission's mandate since 1974, when Turkiye invaded in the wake of a coup mounted by Greek junta-backed supporters of union with Greece.

The UN says there have been numerous infringements of the buffer zone by both sides over the years. But this road construction is seen by the Cyprus government as “an attempt at a very serious violation of the status quo.”

Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis condemned what he called the “organised violence,” adding that the government is in touch with the U.N., the EU and other governments to prevent “Turkish designs.”

The situation is likely to hamper the Cypriot government's efforts to restart negotiations to resolve the island's division. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)