The Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus is carrying out excavations at six sites in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus and in the government controlled areas, looking for Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons.
In statements to CNA on Monday, an officer of the CMP Office said there are currently six ongoing excavations. "We have five in the occupied areas and one in the free areas in Strovolos, in the four sites we are looking for Greek Cypriot bones and in the other two Turkish Cypriots," he added.
In the occupied areas, the first team is excavating in Stylloi Famagusta area, the second in Agios Louca, Famagusta, while more excavations are being held at Aloa, another one in Lapithos and one in Agios Dometios, near the Greek Armed Forces camp where the CMP is looking for both Greek and Greek Cypriots. Excavations are also held at Strovolos in the free areas.
The CMP officer said that the committee is looking for Turkish Cypriots in Aloa and in a well in the government-controlled area of Strovolos.
According to the CMP, in the areas where excavations are currently taking place, no bones have been found yet.
"Unfortunately, after so many years, people's memory doesn't help, and the landscapes have changed, so it takes a lot of effort to achieve something", the CMP officer said.
As of 2023, the CMP has conducted excavations in 47 sites, and remains corresponding to seven individuals have been discovered. The percentage is low, and as the years go by, it becomes more challenging, the official said.
In addition, the pace is slower due to the high temperatures, as the teams follow European legislation and stop working when conditions do not allow.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Since the invasion, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown. A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.
According to statistical data published on the CMP website, by 30 June 2023, of the 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 741 were identified and 769 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 292 were identified and 200 are still missing. This year, only five missing persons were identified, according to the same data.
Source: Cyprus News Agency