By SPA
Nicosia : U.N. minesweepers started checking a roadblock in Cyprus’s ethnically-partitioned capital for booby traps on Wednesday in preparation for opening the crossing to pedestrian traffic for the first time in decades.
An 80 meter (yard) gap buttressed by decaying buildings separating Greek and Turkish Cypriots at the core of medieval Nicosia is to be opened by early April, after a deal between leaders of the estranged communities to resume peace talks.
Six explosives experts in full protective gear entered the area on Wednesday morning with mine detection equipment, Reuters and witnesses said.
“Work has started to check the area for mines and we expect to be finished today,” a spokesman for the U.N. mission on the island said. “This is the first step towards opening the
crossing.”