16.04.2010, Nicosia, Cyprus - A sign on a fence labeled UN Buffer Zone Keep Out, in the background an abandoned UN watchtower in the UN buffer zone, Sector 2 - leftwards the Greek part, rightwards the Turkish part of Cyprus. The zone, also called Green Line, runs 217 km from the east to the west through the island and has separated the Turkish North from the Greek South since the ceasefire in August 1974. The demarcation line is between 10 m and 7 km wide and passes also through the capital city, which the Turks call Lefkosa. De facto it is a matter of the external frontier of the Community since the EU accession of Greek Cyprus. It is guarded by UNFICYP troops (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus), Turkish and Greek military forces. In 1964 the Cyprus conflict started with the separation of the old town of Nicosia, which was marked on a city plan with a green felt-tip pen, hence Green Line. 00A100416D188CAROEX.JPG
