Remains of six fallen Greek soldiers sent home from Cyprus

Greece has repatriated the identified remains of six soldiers who were killed in action in Cyprus during Turkey’s 1974 invasion.

The soldiers’ relatives were honoured during a church service and ceremony in Nicosia on Thursday prior to the coffins being flown aboard a Greek air force transport aircraft.

Greece’s deputy minister of national defence, Alkiviadis Stefanis, attended the ceremony.

The remains of Lieutenant General Georgios Papalambrides, Colonel Constantinos Kourlios, Warrant Officers Pavlos Pavloudis, Vasilios Panayiotou, Constantinos Kateros and Constantinos Elia were handed over to the Greek government in order to be buried in their homeland.

It was the fifth such repatriation in the last three years following the location and identification of the remains of Greek soldiers who had previously been listed as missing.

The remains of four of the soldiers were unearthed from graves at a military cemetery in the capital, which were hastily dug soon after the fighting.

Stefanis said that Greece has a duty to stand by Cyprus and termination of the island’s Turkish occupation continues to be a top priority of Greek foreign policy.

Relatives of the Greek soldiers and Cyprus Minister of Defence Savvas Angelides laid wreaths at the ceremony.