Military of Northern Cyprus

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The Turkish section in Northern Cyprus has a 2,000 man Defense Force which is primarily made up of conscripted Turkish Cypriot males between the ages of 20 and 40. This force supplements the 30,000 strong force from the regular Turkish Armed Forces which is stationed on the island. The mainland force, known as the Turkish Peace Force, is part of the Turkish Army's Aegean Army which is headquartered in İzmir. As of 2005, its equipment was stated to consist of 235 M48 Patton main battle tanks, 107 armoured personnel carriers and numerous pieces of towed and self-propelled artillery.^[1]

Contents 1 Turkish Military Forces on Cyprus 1.1 Turkish view 1.2 Greek view backed up by UN Security Council 2 References

[edit] Turkish Military Forces on Cyprus

As an area under dispute, the Turkish military presence in northern Cyprus is seen differently by the communities in the region.

[edit] Turkish view

The Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces are the Turkish military forces based in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to guarantee the safety of Turkish Cypriots (that stayed on the island following the intercommunal violence and coup attempt by Greek Cypriots to unite the island with Greece), and to preserve the territorial integrity of the TRNC.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Greek view backed up by UN Security Council

The Turkish Occupation Forces in Cyprus invaded the island of Cyprus on July 20, 1974 five days after a failed coup by the then Greek military junta of 1967-1974 to overthrow President Makarios and to unite the island with Greece.^{[citation needed]}

According to the UN Secretary-General “It is estimated that in recent years there have been in the northern part of the island a little under 30,000 armed forces of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish Forces) making it one of the most militarized areas in the world in terms of numbers of troops and numbers of civilian population. Recently moreover there have been indications that the total numbers of Turkish forces on the island may have increased” S994/680 7.6.1994.par.28.

With the coup d'état of April 21, 1967, Greece entered a dark period under the rule of the Colonels' Junta.

On 15 July 1974, the Republic of Cyprus government was overthrown by a Greek Cypriot militant circle under the order of the junta and with help of Greek army officers, installing the former EOKA guerilla Nikos Sampson as the new president. The attempt to murder President Makarios failed, and Makarios fled Cyprus with the help of the British army.^{[citation needed]}

Five days later, on 20 July 1974, in response to the coup, Turkish troops landed near Kyrenia, forcing a narrow corridor to Nicosia within 2 days, until a ceasefire was negotiated on 22 July. On the second day of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus the Colonels' Junta collapsed. Karamanlis returned from Paris and formed his civilian Government. In Cyprus, Nikos Sampson resigned and Glafkos Clerides took over the presidency as acting president, according to the 1960 Constitution.^{[citation needed]}

In August of the same year, almost a month after the coup had dissolved; the three guarantor powers, together with representatives of the two communities, met in Geneva. The Turkish Cypriots under Rauf Denktaş demanded a federal state with 34% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus ceded to Turkish Cypriots. Glafkos Clerides - the Greek Cypriot representative - asked for 36 to 48 hours in order to consult with his superiors. While still in talks, a second Turkish invasion was launched on Cyprus forcing the Greek Cypriot population in the north to move to the south. At the time it was hoped that when hostilities stopped the whole civilian population would return to their homes. When the second ceasefire was declared, more than 36% of the territory was occupied by Turkish forces^{[citation needed]}. The majority of the Greek Cypriot population who fled were denied access to their homes and properties. As a consequence, the second ceasefire line of 1974 today separates the two communities and is generally referred to as the Green Line (or the 'Atilla Line'), running through Lefkosia, making it the only divided capital in the world.

[edit] References