United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus ( UNFICYP ) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots , to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions . < ref name = " S / RES / 186 " > < / ref > Following the 1974 Greek Cypriot coup d ' état and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus , the United Nations Security Council ( UNSC ) extended and expanded the mission to prevent the dispute turning into war , and UNFICYP was redeployed to patrol the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and assist in the maintenance of the military status quo . Since its establishment , the force has also worked in concert with the Special Representative of the Secretary - General and representatives of the two communities to seek an amicable diplomatic solution to the Cyprus dispute . Initially , UNFICYP consisted of military and civilian contingents drawn from Australia , Austria , Denmark , Finland , Canada , Sweden , Ireland , New Zealand , and the United Kingdom . However , over its long history the force has been the subject of and reorganisations , and currently comprises contingents from Argentina , Australia , Austria , Bosnia - Herzegovina , Canada , Croatia , El Salvador , Hungary , India , Ireland , Italy , Montenegro , the Netherlands , Peru , Serbia , Slovakia , Ukraine and the United Kingdom . History . On 5 December 2006 , the United Nations Secretary - General Kofi Annan recommended a further six - month extension in the mandate of the UN mission that has been deployed on the island for over four decades . Mr . Annan said that while the situation remained “ calm and stable with no major violations of the ceasefire lines , ” he regretted the continued stalemate in the political process and the “ missed opportunities ” over the past 10 years . Fatalities . Up to and including 31 October 2008 , UNFICYP has suffered 179 fatalities : Deployment . UNFICYP is headquartered from the Blue Beret Camp , next to the abandoned airport of Nicosia . Prior to 1974 . Upon UNFICYP ' s arrival on the island , the national contingents were each assigned a sector , which mostly coincided with the boundaries of the civil districts : When , in October 1973 , the Irish contingent was withdrawn from Cyprus in support of the United Nations Emergency Force during the Yom Kippur War , the Austrian contingent was relocated from Paphos District ( which was subsequently absorbed by the British contingent ) to Larnaca District to replace them , with the Western half , which had previously been patrolled by the British contingent , absorbed into the Austrian sector . Since 1993 . As of 31 May 2012 , the total strength ( military personnel and civilian police ) of UNFICYP is 926 individuals . The 858 military personnel are from Argentina , Austria , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Croatia , Hungary , Paraguay , Peru , Serbia , Slovakia and the United Kingdom . UNFICYP ' s military personnel are mostly divided up into national contingents , with each major contingent being responsible for one of the buffer zone ' s three remaining sectors . The Argentine contingent includes soldiers from the Argentine military forces , including the Argentine Army and the Argentine Marines , as well as from Brazil , Paraguay and Chile ; whereas the Slovak contingent includes soldiers from Croatia . In addition to the main sector contingents , there are several other military units under UNFICYP command , including : There are 69 civilian police officers supplied by Australia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , El Salvador , India , Ireland , Italy , Montenegro , the Netherlands and Ukraine . In addition , UNFICYP has 147 civilian staff members , 39 of whom were internationally recruited and 108 locally recruited . Buffer Zone . The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarised zone , patrolled by UNFICYP , that was established in 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus , and " de facto " partitions the island into the area controlled by the Government of Cyprus ( which is the " de jure " government for the entire island save for the British Sovereign Base Areas ) in the South and that under the administration of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus in the North . The zone runs for more than along what is colloquially known as the Green Line and has an area of . The zone stretches for 180 km from the western part of near Kato Pyrgos to the east just south of Famagusta . It cuts through the center of the old town of Nicosia , separating the city into southern and northern sections . There is also a buffer zone around the Kokkina exclave in western Cyprus . The width of the zone ranges from in central Nicosia , to at the village of Athienou . There is no buffer zone along the common border between the eastern British Sovereign Base Area and the area under Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot control . The buffer zone is home to some 10 , 000 people and there are several villages and farms located within . The village of Pyla is famous for being the only village on Cyprus where Greeks and Turks live side by side . Other villages are Dhenia , Mammari , Athienou and Troulli while Lymbia lies partially within the zone . Turkish forces built a barrier on the zone ' s northern side , consisting mainly of barbed - wire fencing , concrete wall segments , watchtowers , anti - tank ditches , and minefields . This line is also referred to as the Attila Line on some maps , named after the Turkish code - name for the 1974 military intervention : Operation Atilla . The closed off zone has become a haven for Cyprus ' wildlife , an example of an involuntary park . Finances . The annual cost for maintaining UNFICYP is estimated at $ 57 , 390 , 000 . This includes the voluntary contribution by the Government of Cyprus of one third of the cost of the force and the annual amount of $ 6 , 500 , 000 contributed by the Government of Greece . Turkey does not directly contribute to the force ’ s budget . The operational cost of UNFICYP just during the period from 16 June 1993 to 31 October 2010 was US $ 2 . 91 billion . Removal of UNFICYP from Cyprus . UN Secretary General Ban Ki - Moon reported in 2011 that " Preliminary internal discussions about the UN presence in Cyprus had been initiated " and hinted that " UNFICYP ’ s continued presence on the island could not be taken for granted " .