According to information the crew of a Turkish patrol boat has Cyprus Four warning shots were fired at a boat of the Cyprus Coast Guard on Friday morning. A spokesman for the Cypriot police said on television that the ship had been forced to take refuge in the small Cypriot port of Kato Pyrgos. So the Cypriot boats were eleven nautical miles from the coast (Cyprus) and controlled the region to prevent illegal migration.

Three officers from the Cyprus Coast Guard tried to “avoid any incident” and eventually left for port. The shots were fired at a distance of four nautical miles from Kato Pyrgos. The port is not far from the border line between the Greek and Turkish controlled parts of the island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974. At that time the northern part of the Mediterranean island. was surrounded by Turkey Captured. One What has been trying to mediate for years is a buffer zone between the two parts of Cyprus, which is monitored by UN peacekeeping forces. Turkish Republic Northern Cyprus Recognized only by Ankara.

Increasing migration to the EU through Cyprus

Relations between Cyprus and Turkey have been strained for decades due to the partition. The situation has worsened over the past few months due to smugglers who repeatedly bring migrants from Turkey to Cyprus and thus to the European Union.

People are first brought from Turkey to Turkish Cyprus in the north of the island. Although the dividing line is strictly monitored in the south of the island, migrants still cross it through rough terrain. Refugee camps in the small island republic are overcrowded.