With a plume of black smoke and a loud bang, Cyprus's capital city Nicosia was officially declared landmine free today after more than three decades.
Mick Raine, programme manager, United Nations Mine Action Centre
The United Nations Mine Action Centre (MAC) disposed of the last two anti-personnel mines in a field abutting a crumbling civilian airport, shut down in a 1974 war which tore Cyprus apart.
"The greater Nicosia area is now landmine free, but our overall objective is to have a mine-free Cyprus," said Mick Raine, programme manager of MAC on the eastern Mediterranean island.
MAC, funded by the European Union, is involved in clearing mines from the buffer zone, a 180 kilometre corridor of land crossing Cyprus east to west, dividing its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations. It is patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers.
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish military laid mines in the aftermath of the Turkish invasion in 1974 prompted by a brief Greek-inspired coup.
The stalemate left by division is a key obstacle in Turkey's ambitions to join the European Union, where internationally-recognised Greek Cypriots represent the island.
