Exclusive: British UN peacekeepers use new patrol tactics in eerie Cyprus buffer zone

Forces News has been given exclusive access to British peacekeepers patrolling the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus.

We joined 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment as they carried out peacekeeping patrols, which included trying out something different – expeditionary patrolling.

While we couldn't stay overnight with the personnel, soldiers agreed to film themselves on the patrol to give an exclusive insight into their work.

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The British peacekeepers travel light, patrolling the divided city of Nicosia and sleeping overnight in the buffer zone –  with the neutral ground separating the Turkish north from the Greek south.

Captain Harry Ziegler, Second in Command, Operations Company, told Forces News the expeditionary patrolling "is a means of having a greater presence in the buffer zone".

Private Sushant Gurung, 2 Platoon, 2 Section, shows the sleeping set-up for personnel, equipped for the night, but adds that there are "no heating facilities".

He says it was "easy to deploy" from the expedition patrol rather than from the barracks.

"It's quite effective and fast," he said.

Corporal Paul Cook, 3 Platoon, 1 Section, shows viewers how the Greek position is lit up at night, whilst the Turkish position remains in darkness.

He also explained that while on patrol, troops are "looking out for any civilians, any refugees that could have wandered onto the buffer zone".

Time stands still in the spot where the conflict ended after a ceasefire in 1974, with objects left behind from when the conflict raged.

The buffer zone was formed after the end of the conflict and, while there hasn't been any violence in decades, emotions still run high in the world's last remaining divided city.

Standing on a UN observation post, it is possible to hear the call to prayer from the Turkish side of the city, while church bells ring out in the Greek half.

Until there is a resolution to what is known as 'the Cyprus problem', the UN personnel have to remain alert and straddle the two halves of a divided city to keep the peace.