Exhumation of ‘missing’ continues in Cyprus

The project on the exhumation, identification and return of remains of persons listed as missing since the Turkish invasion in 1974 is progressing at a satisfactory pace, according to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP).

Exhumations have continued over the past few years at locations where there were reportedly mass graves of soldiers or civilians killed during the war or others murdered during other inter-communal troubles.

A statement by the committee said that ongoing exhumations are being carried out by the CMP bi-communal team of scientists, under the guidance of the Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology (EAAF), to find remains of Turkish Cypriots in Strovolos (in the government controlled areas) and Greek Cypriots in the Kyrenia region (in the Turkish occupied north).

To date, the CMP said, “remains believed to belong to three individuals have been found in Strovolos and to four in Kyrenia”.

Initial reports suggested that more than ten remains had been traced to a 15-metre well in Strovolos, but that number grew smaller as excavation work got underway.

Following the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, 1493 Greek Cypriots were officially reported as missing to the CMP but following a number of identifications in the past several years that number stood at 1468 in November last year.

The Turkish Cypriot community has declared 502 persons as missing from 1974 and from previous conflicts dating back to 1964.