Cyprus police use tear gas at protest against crossing closure

NICOSIA: Cyprus police sprayed tear gas on Saturday as several hundred people protested against the closure of crossings on the divided island's ceasefire line over coronavirus fears.

Four officers were injured in the capital Nicosia during scuffles with demonstrators in which police made "limited use" of personal tear gas spray to control the crowd, a police spokesperson said.

Police said they made no arrests as an estimated 200 Greek Cypriots and 150 Turkish Cypriots gathered either side of the Ledra Street crossing in central Nicosia to demand the checkpoints be re-opened. Protesters from the northern Turkish Cypriot side tried to break through a cordon blocking the crossing point, police said.

The Mediterranean island is divided between the Republic of Cyprus -- a European Union member state -- and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara.

Cypriot authorities closed four of the eight checkpoints on the line dividing the island last Saturday for an initial seven-day period "for more effective control over the entry points".

Activist group Unite Cyprus Now organised the protest, with demonstrators chanting "Peace in Cyprus cannot be stopped" and "Contain the virus of partition".

Turkish Cypriot European Parliament member Niyazi Kizilyurek told reporters that closing the crossings was an "unnecessary disruption and politically unacceptable". The government said it will re-evaluate the closures on Monday.