A two-year-old child abducted from Limassol has been placed under ‘state’ protection in the north, with Greek Cypriot authorities now awaiting information on whether the child’s father will be handed over.

The child was taken last week from the home of his British mother by his father, a Turkish national, who later crossed back into the north with the child, reportedly via an unmanned area at the British base in Dhekelia.

The father is currently being held under a three-day detention order in the north after being located and arrested in Famagusta for “illegally entering into a military restricted zone”.

Speaking on Alpha TV, Limassol CID spokesperson, Erika Kavazi, affirmed that investigators are monitoring developments and are waiting for formal communication via the bicommunal Technical Committee for Crime regarding possible transfer arrangements to the government-controlled areas.

Authorities have confirmed that two arrest warrants are pending against the 26-year-old, one linked to a domestic violence case and a second relating to the abduction of the child.

A 53-year-old Turkish Cypriot, alleged to have abetted in the abduction is also in custody in connection with the case.

The north’s labour ‘minister’ Oguzhan Hasipoglu said in a written statement that the child is now under “state protection” following intervention by social services.

He said the process was handled “with the child’s best interests as the guiding principle” and that specialist teams acted after assessment procedures.

He added that the child is of sound health and that medical checks have already been completed.

The case remains under investigation by CID.