Six CMP crews currently excavating to locate missing persons

Six crews, five in the Turkish occupied areas and one in the government-controlled areas, are currently carrying out excavatinos to locate the remains of missing persons, according to information from the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP).

CMP sources told CNA that crews are working in Galatia village in the Karpasia area, as well as in the villages of Marathovounos, Agia, Karavas and Templos in the Turkish occupied areas and in Yeri in the government-controlled areas.

The excavations in the occupied territories concern efforts to locate missing Greek Cypriots. In Yeri, in the Nicosia district, excavations concern efforts to locate Turkish Cypriots missing since 1964.

Asked about the duration of the excavations, the same sources said that it depends on the type of excavation, and that if, for example, it concerns a well whose location is known, it may take one to two days, but if they need to find the well’s location, it could take a week to locate it and two to three days to excavate. Some excavations e
nd within a day, others may be completed in one, two or three months, they noted.

Regarding future excavations, the same sources noted that there is a schedule, but that it changes depending on the weather conditions that may not allow excavation in certain places on some seasons, but also on whether they can get a permit for excavations in some places since they may concern military areas, or from users of plots where it is believed missing persons are buried.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, 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 July 31
, 2024, out of 2002 missing persons 1,196 were exhumed and 1,051 were identified. Out of 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 756 were identified and 754 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 295 were identified and 197 are still missing.

Source: Cyprus News Agency