The gruelling lives of displaced Turkish Cypriots and tears of those having lost their beloved ones...Turkish soldiers landing on the island from parachutes and local Turks welcoming them with cheers...Historical photographs of such moments and many more have been made public by Anadolu Agency in an exclusive gallery to mark the 40th anniversary of the Turkey’s "Cyprus Peace Operation."
Ahead of July 20 commemorations, AA photo editors have compiled archive images shot during the days before and after 'Operation Atilla' – a month-long huge military intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots from inter-communal violence which struck the island in 1974.
Violence broke out on the Mediterranean island amid a July 15 Greek Cypriot attempt to unite Cyprus with a Greece ruled by a right-wing military junta. Five days later Turkey sent 40,000 troops – Operation Atilla – to the island’s north.
The photos show Turkish Cypriots taking shelter in tents and some government buildings. Images capture those preparing to flee the region with belongings loaded onto trucks after they had to leave their homes due to Greek Cypriot attacks following the 1974 Greek military coup.
As a result of the Greek attacks, at least 30,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced from their villages and the whole Turkish Cypriot population had to seek refuge in small, besieged areas which correspond to three percent of the island, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Some of the photos show mass graves of Turkish Cypriots killed by the Greek community of the island along with others depicting the demolished buildings in the conflict and agony of the victims' families.
In the years of violence which gripped Cyprus, around 2,000 people disappeared, according to the UN-backed Committee on Missing Persons.
The island of Cyprus has remained divided into Greek and Turkish sides since the 1974 Turkish peace operation.
As one of the guarantor countries along with Greece and the United Kingdom that signed the Republic of Cyprus’ 1960 establishment treaty, Turkey used its right to prevent the unification of the Cyprus state with another state.
Negotiations over Cyprus resumed after a 2004 deal put forward by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to reunify the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities. The plan was defeated by a no vote in a referendum in the Greek portion of the island whereas Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan.
The latest round of negations in the island started last February with a joint declaration.
The Greek Cypriot administration is a member of the European Union and is internationally recognized, except by Turkey, which is the only country that recognizes the TRNC.
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