Turkish invasion of Cyprus

This article is about the 1974 Turkish invasion. For the 1570 Ottoman conquest, see Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573).
"Operation Atilla" redirects here. For the planned Nazi invasion of France, see Operation Attila (World War II).

Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Part of the Cold War and Cyprus problem

Ethnic map of Cyprus in 1973. Gold denotes Greek Cypriots, purple denotes Turkish Cypriot enclaves and red denotes British bases.[1]
Date20 July – 18 August 1974
(4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Cyprus
Result

Turkish victory[2][3][4][5]

Territorial
changes

Turkey occupies 36.2% of Cyprus[12]

Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
  • Turkey:
    40,000 troops[13]
    160–180 M47 and M48 tanks[14]
  • Turkish Cypriot enclaves:
  • 11,000–13,500 men, up to 20,000 under full mobilisation[15]
  • Total: 60,000
  • Cyprus:
  • 12,000[16]
  • Small number of T-34 tanks
  • Greece:
  • 1,800–2,000[17]
  • Total: 14,000
Casualties and losses
1,500–3,500 casualties (estimated) (military and civilian)[9][18][19] including 568 KIA (498 TAF, 70 Resistance)
2,000 wounded[9]
270 civilians killed
803 civilians missing (official number in 1974)[20]		 4,500–6,000 casualties (estimated) (military and civilian)[9][18][19] including 309 (Cyprus) and 105 (Greece) military deaths[21][22][23]
1,000–1,100 missing (as of 2015)[24]
United Nations UNFICYP:[25]
9 killed
65 wounded

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus[26][a] began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.[34]

The coup was ordered by the military junta in Greece and staged by the Cypriot National Guard[35][36] in conjunction with EOKA B. It deposed the Cypriot president Archbishop Makarios III and installed Nikos Sampson.[37][38] The aim of the coup was the union (enosis) of Cyprus with Greece,[39][40][41] and the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus to be declared.[42][43]

The Turkish forces landed in Cyprus on 20 July and captured 3% of the island before a ceasefire was declared. The Greek military junta collapsed and was replaced by a civilian government. Following the breakdown of peace talks, Turkish forces enlarged their original beachhead in August 1974 resulting in the capture of approximately 36% of the island. The ceasefire line from August 1974 became the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and is commonly referred to as the Green Line.

Around 150,000 people (amounting to more than one-quarter of the total population of Cyprus, and to one-third of its Greek Cypriot population) were displaced from the northern part of the island, where Greek Cypriots had constituted 80% of the population. Over the course of the next year, roughly 60,000 Turkish Cypriots,[44] amounting to half the Turkish Cypriot population,[45] were displaced from the south to the north.[46] The Turkish invasion ended in the partition of Cyprus along the UN-monitored Green Line, which still divides Cyprus, and the formation of a de facto Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration in the north. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared independence, although Turkey is the only country that recognises it.[47] The international community considers the TRNC's territory as Turkish-occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus.[48] The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law, amounting to illegal occupation of European Union territory since Cyprus became a member.[49]

  1. ^ Map based on map from the CIA publication Atlas: Issues in the Middle East Archived 27 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine, collected in Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine at the University of Texas Libraries web cite.
  2. ^ Fortna, Virginia Page (2004). Peace Time: Cease-fire Agreements and the Durability of Peace. Princeton University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0691115122.
  3. ^ "Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Brussels – General Information". www.mfa.gov.cy. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. ^ Juliet Pearse, "Troubled Northern Cyprus fights to keep afloat" in Cyprus. Grapheio Typou kai Plērophoriōn, Cyprus. Grapheion Dēmosiōn Plērophoriōn, Foreign Press on Cyprus,　Public Information Office, 1979, p. 15. Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Joseph Weatherby, The other world: Issues and Politics of the Developing World, Longman, 2000, ISBN 978-0-8013-3266-1, p. 285. Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Tocci, Nathalie (2007). The EU and Conflict Resolution: Promoting Peace in the Backyard. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1134123384.
  7. ^ Borowiec, Andrew (2000). Cyprus: A Troubled Island. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 2. ISBN 978-0275965334.
  8. ^ Michael, Michális Stavrou (2011). Resolving the Cyprus Conflict: Negotiating History. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 130. ISBN 978-1137016270.
  9. ^ a b c d Pierpaoli, Paul G. Jr. (2014). Hall, Richard C. (ed.). War in the Balkans: An Encyclopedic History from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the Breakup of Yugoslavia. ABC-Clio. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-1-61069-031-7. As a result of the Turkish invasion and occupation, perhaps as many as 200,000 Greeks living in northern Cyprus fled their homes and became refugees in the south. It is estimated that 638 Turkish troops died in the fighting, with another 2,000 wounded. Another 1,000 or so Turkish civilians were killed or wounded. Cypriot Greeks, together with Greek soldiers dispatched to the island, suffered 4,500–6,000 killed or wounded, and 2,000–3,000 more missing.
  10. ^ Katholieke Universiteit Brussel, 2004 Archived 17 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine "Euromosaic III: Presence of Regional and Minority Language Groups in the New Member States", p. 18
  11. ^ Smit, Anneke (2012). The Property Rights of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Beyond Restitution. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-0415579605.
  12. ^ Thekla Kyritsi, Nikos Christofis (2018). Cypriot Nationalisms in Context: History, Identity and Politics. p. 12.
  13. ^ Keser, Ulvi (2006). Turkish-Greek Hurricane on Cyprus (1940 – 1950 – 1960 – 1970), 528. sayfa, Publisher: Boğaziçi Yayınları, ISBN 975-451-220-5.
  14. ^ Η Μάχη της Κύπρου, Γεώργιος Σέργης, Εκδόσεις Αφοι Βλάσση, Αθήνα 1999, p. 253 (in Greek)
  15. ^ Η Μάχη της Κύπρου, Γεώργιος Σέργης, Εκδόσεις Αφοι Βλάσση, Αθήνα 1999, p. 254 (in Greek)
  16. ^ Η Μάχη της Κύπρου, Γεώργιος Σέργης, Εκδόσεις Αφοι Βλάσση, Αθήνα 1999, p. 260 (in Greek)
  17. ^ Administrator. "ΕΛ.ΔΥ.Κ '74 – Χρονικό Μαχών". eldyk74.gr. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  18. ^ a b Jentleson, Bruce W.; Thomas G. Paterson; Council on Foreign Relations (1997). Encyclopedia of US foreign relations. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511059-3. Greek/Greek Cypriot casualties were estimated at 6,000 and Turkish/Turkish Cypriot casualties at 3,500, including 1,500 dead...
  19. ^ a b Tony Jaques (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-First Century. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 556. ISBN 978-0-313-33538-9. The invasion cost about 6,000 Greek Cypriot and 1500–3500 Turkish casualties (20 July 1974)
  20. ^ Haydar Çakmak: Türk dış politikası, 1919–2008, Platin, 2008, ISBN 9944137251, p. 688 (in Turkish); excerpt from reference: 415 ground, 65 navy, 10 air, 13 gendarmerie, 70 resistance (= 568 killed)
  21. ^ Erickson & Uyar 2020, p. 209
  22. ^ Hatziantoniou 2007, p. 557
  23. ^ Καταλόγοι Ελληνοκυπρίων και Ελλαδιτών φονευθέντων κατά το Πραξικόπημα και την Τουρκική Εισβολή (in Greek). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  24. ^ "Figures and Statistics of Missing Persons" (PDF). Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  25. ^ UNFICYP report, found in Γεώργιος Τσουμής, Ενθυμήματα & Τεκμήρια Πληροφοριών της ΚΥΠ, Δούρειος Ίππος, Athens November 2011, Appendix 19, p. 290
  26. ^ Vincent Morelli (2011). Cyprus: Reunification Proving Elusive. Diane Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4379-8040-0. The Greek Cypriots and much of the international community refer to it as an "invasion.
  27. ^ Mirbagheri, Farid (2010). Historical dictionary of Cyprus ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0810862982.
  28. ^ Kissane, Bill (2014). After Civil War: Division, Reconstruction, and Reconciliation in Contemporary Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-8122-9030-1. were incorporated in the Greek Cypriot armed forces, gave Turkey reason and a pretext to invade Cyprus, claiming its role under the Treaty of Guarantees.
  29. ^ A. C. Chrysafi (2003). Who Shall Govern Cyprus – Brussels Or Nicosia?. Evandia Publishing UK Limited. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-904578-00-0. On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus under the pretext of protecting the Turkish-Cypriot minority.
  30. ^ Robert B. Kaplan; Richard B. Baldauf Jr.; Nkonko Kamwangamalu (2016). Language Planning in Europe: Cyprus, Iceland and Luxembourg. Routledge. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-134-91667-2. Five days later, on 20 July 1974, Turkey, claiming a right to intervene as one of the guarantors of the 1960 agreement, invaded the island on the pretext of restoring the constitutional order of the Republic of Cyprus.
  31. ^ Arıcıoğlu, Ece Buket (26 June 2023). "Kıbrıs Meselesi Ekseninde 1974 Kıbrıs Müdahalesi" [The 1974 Cyprus Intervention in the Context of the Cyprus Issue]. Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Teknik Araştırmalar Dergisi (in Turkish) (21): 103–115. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  32. ^ Rongxing Guo, (2006), Territorial Disputes and Resource Management: A Global Handbook. p. 91
  33. ^ Angelos Sepos, (2006), The Europeanization of Cyprus: Polity, Policies and Politics, p. 106
  34. ^ Uzer, Umut (2011). Identity and Turkish Foreign Policy: The Kemalist Influence in Cyprus and the Caucasus. I.B. Tauris. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-1848855694.
  35. ^ Solanakis, Mihail. "Operation "Niki" 1974: A suicide mission to Cyprus". Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  36. ^ "U.S. Library of Congress – Country Studies – Cyprus – Intercommunal Violence". Countrystudies.us. 21 December 1963. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  37. ^ Mallinson, William (2005). Cyprus: A Modern History. I.B. Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-85043-580-8.
  38. ^ BBC: Turkey urges fresh Cyprus talks Archived 27 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine (2006-01-24)
  39. ^ Papadakis, Yiannis (2003). "Nation, narrative and commemoration: political ritual in divided Cyprus". History and Anthropology. 14 (3): 253–270. doi:10.1080/0275720032000136642. S2CID 143231403. [...] culminating in the 1974 coup aimed at the annexation of Cyprus to Greece
  40. ^ Atkin, Nicholas; Biddiss, Michael; Tallett, Frank (2011). The Wiley-Blackwell Dictionary of Modern European History Since 1789. John Wiley & Sons. p. 184. ISBN 978-1444390728.
  41. ^ Journal of international law and practice, Volume 5. Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University. 1996. p. 204.
  42. ^ Strategic review, Volume 5 (1977), United States Strategic Institute, p. 48 Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  43. ^ Allcock, John B. Border and territorial disputes (1992), Longman Group, p. 55 Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine.
  44. ^ Tocci 2007, 32.
  45. ^ Pericleous, Chrysostomos (2009). Cyprus Referendum: A Divided Island and the Challenge of the Annan Plan. I.B. Tauris. p. 201. ISBN 978-0857711939.
  46. ^ "1974: Turkey Invades Cyprus". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  47. ^ Salin, Ibrahm (2004). Cyprus: Ethnic Political Components. Oxford: University Press of America. p. 29.
  48. ^ Quigley (2010). The Statehood of Palestine. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-139-49124-2. The international community found this declaration invalid, on the ground that Turkey had occupied territory belonging to Cyprus and that the putative state was therefore an infringement on Cypriot sovereignty.
  49. ^ James Ker-Lindsay; Hubert Faustmann; Fiona Mullen (2011). An Island in Europe: The EU and the Transformation of Cyprus. I.B. Tauris. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-84885-678-3. Classified as illegal under international law, the occupation of the northern part leads automatically to an illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus' accession.


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