Turkish Vessel fires Warning Shots at Cyprus Police Ship

A Turkish coastguard vessel reportedly fired warning shots at a Cyprus police ship that was out looking for undocumented migrants.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions on the island as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepares to visit the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north next week to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion.

The Cypriot vessel was sailing some 11 nautical miles from the small fishing port of Kato Pyrgos when it was spotted by the Turkish coastguard. The incident took place at 0030 GMT, Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported today.

The port is located just west of the UN-patrolled armistice line separating the government-held territory from the breakaway north.

Christos Andreou, spokesman for Cyprus police told CNA that coastguard cutter was inside Cyprus' territorial waters.

"The patrol boat’s three-member crew seeing the intentions of the Turkish coastguard tried to avoid any incident and headed toward the fishing shelter at Kato Pyrgos," he said.

"At a distance of four nautical miles from the shelter, the marine police boat received warning shots from the Turkish coastguard. Then, being a short distance from the shores, the Turkish coastguard left for the occupied territories (of northern Cyprus),” he said.