The Security Council has decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for a further period ending on January 31, 2022. By other terms, the Council reaffirmed the importance of the 2018 UN aide-memoire to ensure peace and security in the buffer zone and requested the Secretary-General to report to its 15 members and troop-contributing countries any actions that impede the force's ability to fulfil its mandate.

The UNFICYP on Thursday urged the sides, and all involved parties, to respect its mandated authority in, and delineation of, the buffer zone separating Greek and Turkish communities in the northern and southern regions of the Mediterranean island since 1974, as per reports. The Council also called on both sides to respect the integrity of the buffer zone, remove all unauthorised constructions and prevent unauthorised military or civilian activities within and along the ceasefire lines.

In particular, the Council called on the two leaders to urgently provide political support, and overall guidance, to free the Technical Committees from obstructions in their work, empowering them to submit proposals to enhance inter-communal contacts.

Massive Flash floods kills 40 people in Nuristan province Afghanistan

Infiltration attempt by al-Shabab terrorists to Ethiopia from neighboring Somalia foiled

US announces Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America