Blast Raises Cyprus Tension

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30348, 25 January 1964, Page 15

Blast Raises Cyprus Tension

(N.ZJ’.A .-Reuter—Copyright) NICOSIA, January 24. Communal tension agai i ran high in Nicosia overnight after an explosion damaged an important mosque. Unconfirmed reports said more than one mosque had been damaged as three explosions rocked Nicosia’s walled city, but a British military spokesman said only one mosque was damaged.

President Makarios, in a statement condemning the explosions, said he considered the act “very harmful to Cyprus” and “the detestable culprits, whoever they may be, are enemies of the people of Cyprus and its peace.” The Turkish Cypriot VicePresident, Dr. Fadil Kutchuk, issued a statement to journalists saying he strongly protested against the explosions. •"There is a very tense situation in the Turkish sector,” he said. The explosions came after President Makarios had issued a statement saying that "any attempt by the Turks to create a fait accompli will be faced by all the means at our disposal.” He was commenting on reports—later denied by a British military spokesman—that Turkish Army troops were taking up positions in hills north of Nicosia. The President said: "We shall on no account accept a solution other than that

which we have repeatedly stated —that is, a unified and fully independent state free from any outside interference.”

The explosion wrecked the minaret of the Bairaktar mosque, which is surrounded by Greek property. The Turks consider the Bairaktar mosque as one of their major shrines in Cyprus.