Danish peacekeepers who took part in the first UNFICYP mission to Cyprus will arrive in Nicosia on Wednesday, to revisit the buffer zone and lay a commemorative plaque at a ceremony at the Ledra Palace hotel, currently under UN control, in the capital Nicosia.

According to an announcement by the Royal Danish Embassy in Nicosia, Denmark was part of the first group of countries to send peacekeepers to Cyprus, with the first soldiers of the UNFICYP Danish Contingent (DANCON) arriving in May 1964.

Since then 22.623 Danish peacekeepers served in Cyprus until their departure in 1996, and 25 lost their life while serving in Cyprus.

The honorary plaque to commemorate Denmark`s 32 years of service will be unveiled at Ledra Pallas, in the presence of the Danish Ambassador Casper Klynge.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities on the island and bring about a return to normal conditions. UNFICYP is one of the longest-running UN peacekeeping missions