Bases not involved in Nato strike operation

THE BRITISH bases will not be affected by the Nato military strikes on Yugoslavia, a spokesman said yesterday.

But bases residents and Cypriots living close to Akrotiri were concerned on Wednesday night when nine Red Arrows came thundering into the RAF base, spokesman Rob Need admitted yesterday.

Need said that, by coincidence, the Red Arrows had flown in just after 7pm, just two hours before the Nato strikes began. There was no connection between the two events, he said, adding that the bases would not be used as part of the Nato operation. He mentioned distance as being a factor.

“It’s business as usual here,” Need said.

The government also confirmed yesterday that the bases would not be used in the Kosovo operation.

Government spokesman Costas Serezis said: “The British bases will not be used. There is no reason when Italy is closer and so many other countries are participating in the Nato air force; why should Cyprus be used?” he said.

Meanwhile, Need said the Red Arrows were in Cyprus as part of their annual training and would be on the island for up to six weeks.

He said the Bases were currently waiting for feedback from local mayors as to whether the Red Arrows would be putting on their annual aerobatic show on the island.

“We would be delighted if they said ‘yes’,” he said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.