Government procedures are underway to hire 300 special police contractors to guard the buffer zone in an effort to reduce migration.
The relevant funds have been released and a meeting occurred Tuesday at the Police headquarters to schedule the processes so that the vacancies will be announced, Phileleftheros reported citing information. If everything goes according to schedule the hiring process will start at the beginning of 2023.
The special police officers will undergo fast-track training for a period of one month at the Police Academy on how to use weapons, make arrests, and handle people who are migrating.
Then, they will receive their equipment, vehicles and uniforms. According to Phileleftheros, the equipment cost 10 million euros.
The special unit will be assisted by soldiers who guard posts in the buffer zone.
The creation of the special unit is one of the three measures the government is promoting to reduce migration.
Already, barbed wire has been installed in various areas of Nicosia, which has proven not to be effective.
Also, a closed-circuit television surveillance system that will monitor areas of the buffer zone has been purchased from an Israeli company and will be installed next month. When detecting people attempting to enter government-controlled areas it will send a signal to the special police unit to intervene.
