THE United Nations said today that it was concerned over “unauthorised construction work” in the heavily militarised buffer zone in Cyprus.

The UN, which supervises the zone that separates Greek Cypriots in the south and ethnic Turkish Cypriots in the north, said the construction work goes against security council resolutions and is a violation of the status quo in the area.

In a statement the UN welcomed an interruption in the construction and the removal of equipment and personnel.

Last week the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the construction had caused injuries to UN personnel and damaged a number of their vehicles. 

Mr Guterres said these amounted to “serious crimes” against the UN.

The security council reaffirmed its support for the peace-keeping mission in Cyprus, one of the oldest active in the world.

The Turkish government slammed the security council decision.

“We believe that with this move, the United Nations has lost its neutrality,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters.

UN personnel in the area were first sent to quell violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s.

Mr Guterres proposed the appointment of a UN envoy to provide support on the way to formal negotiations, an initiative that has not yet reached an agreement between all the parties involved.