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151-708: The mission of the National Guard is to take all necessary measures for the defense of the Republic of Cyprus for the purpose of dealing with a threatened invasion or any action directed against the independence or territorial integrity of the Republic or threatening to secure the life or property of citizens of the Republic. The main threat to Cyprus comes from the presence of 40,000 Turkish troops stationed in Northern Cyprus . Greece currently maintains

302-522: A coup d'état in Cyprus, to unite the island with Greece . The coup ousted president Makarios III and replaced him with pro- enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson . In response to the coup, five days later, on 20 July 1974, the Turkish army invaded the island, citing a right to intervene to restore the constitutional order from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee . This justification has been rejected by

453-528: A garrison of 950 men in the Republic of Cyprus under the designation Hellenic Force in Cyprus (ELDYK), but this is not officially part of the Cyprus military and mostly takes orders from Greece's Hellenic Army General Staff . The National Guard was established in 1964 as a force composed predominantly of ethnic Greeks , following the Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 and the breakdown of social and political relations between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on

604-588: A Soviet Navy freighter arrived at Limassol Port carrying the first batch of arms intended to re-equip the National Guard. These supplies included 4 unidentified armoured vehicles, and 130 ZIL heavy trucks, along with sufficient number of crates to fill 36 Bedford trucks. After this initial delivery, arms transfers made by the Soviet Navy to Cyprus accelerated, with freighters travelling via Alexandria in Egypt to Limassol under cover of night. These deliveries included

755-444: A Turkish polity in the north. Following nationalist violence in the 1950s , Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. The crisis of 1963–64 brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July 1974, a coup d'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of

906-553: A Turkish-Cypriot controlled fortified enclave on the south-western edge of Morphou Bay in the north-west of the island with its commander, being General George Grivas . Kokkina was regarded by Grivas as a major coastal beachhead for Turkey to land weapons in Cyprus, with the aim of arming the Turkish Cypriots . For this reason, he persuaded the military government in Athens to authorise an all-out assault on Kokkina, with

1057-522: A UN presence in the area. The Turkish Air Force dispatched a number of formations of F-100 Super Sabres to commence air strikes against the Cypriot ground and naval forces, in broad daylight and flying at low level. The first formation of F-100 Super Sabres spotted the Phaethon near to a small fisheries harbour west of Kokkina. The Phaethon commenced evasive manoeuvres and put up 20mm cannon fire, but

1208-661: A base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression. The island would serve Britain as a key military base for its colonial routes. By 1906, when the Famagusta harbour was completed, Cyprus was a strategic naval outpost overlooking the Suez Canal , the crucial main route to India which was then Britain's most important overseas possession. Following the outbreak of the First World War and

1359-446: A batch of ZPU-1 14.5mm anti-aircraft guns and a consignment of around 4500 Czech surplus vz. 58 assault rifles, as well as machine guns and mortars. After 1965, and until 1974, the civilian Government of Archbishop Makarios became increasingly alienated by the relationship between the National Guard leadership and the ruling military Government of Greece. Few funds were made available to secure other armaments of technical support, and

1510-732: A ceasefire had been agreed, Turkey had landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridor linking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Nicosia itself. The junta in Athens , and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fell from power. In Nicosia, Glafkos Clerides temporarily assumed the presidency. But after the peace negotiations in Geneva , the Turkish government reinforced their Kyrenia bridgehead and started

1661-531: A century starting in 708 BC, before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Achaemenid rule in 545 BC. The Cypriots, led by Onesilus , king of Salamis, joined their fellow Greeks in the Ionian cities during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt in 499 BC against the Achaemenids. The revolt was suppressed, but Cyprus managed to maintain a high degree of autonomy and remained inclined towards

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1812-435: A final settlement of the Cyprus problem. Greek Cypriot Greek diaspora Constantinople and Asia Minor : Africa : Other regions : Other groups : Other languages Greek Cypriots ( Greek : Ελληνοκύπριοι , romanized :  Ellinokýprioi , Turkish : Kıbrıs Rumları ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus , forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to

1963-410: A full package of Soviet-made radars and radio systems to complement the structural and strategic requirements of a reinforced National Guard. In addition, a consignment of 32 Soviet-made T-34/85 medium tanks (from Yugoslav surplus) were delivered along with 40 BTR-152 armoured personnel carriers, as well as a batch of 30 M1944 100-mm field guns , 40 modern 3M6 Shmel anti-tank missile firing units,

2114-619: A further 65 new Leonidas-2 armored personnel carriers delivered in 1996–1997. In 2001–2002, Cyprus discreetly acquired 12 new-build examples (serial numbers 811–822 inclusively) of the Mil Mi-35P Hind-F attack helicopter type from the Russian Federation , following a lengthy tender process which included reported competition from the Mil Mi-28 Havoc, and Denel Rooivalk. The helicopters were first made public at

2265-547: A high standard of living. Economic modernization created a more flexible and open society and caused Greek Cypriots to share the concerns and hopes of other secularized West European societies. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, officially representing the entire island, but suspended for the time being in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus . Greeks in Cyprus number 659,115, according to

2416-521: A large helicopter pad and expanded accommodation facilities, making it suitable for use as a support ship under its new designation, A620 Alasia. However the low speed of the ship, combined with its age, highlighted mechanical difficulties with the ship's propulsion, and following its use in the TELES-2017 naval exercise in May 2017, the ship was laid up at Larnaca Port, requiring repair. On 28 November 2017

2567-560: A low-visibility Hellenic Air Force styled roundel marking at the midsection of the tail boom. The designation SA-342L is inscribed above the fin flash, along with the three-digit serial number. In 1989, the Cyprus Government ordered a batch of 35 AMX-30B2 main battle tanks and 1 AMX-30D armored recovery vehicle as part of a $ 115 million US dollar purchase from France. The deal included 12 GIAT Mk F-3 self-propelled 155mm howitzers and 12 AMX-VCI armored personnel carriers . All of

2718-541: A major supply base that was relatively safe from the Saracens . A year later Richard sold the island to the Knights Templar , who, following a bloody revolt, in turn sold it to Guy of Lusignan . His brother and successor Aimery was recognised as King of Cyprus by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor . Following the death in 1473 of James II , the last Lusignan king, the Republic of Venice assumed control of

2869-480: A massive armament campaign. Since Cyprus could not afford major weapons purchases under her own depleted national budget, Makarios was forced to dispatch an envoy on 1 October 1964 to the Soviet Union to request military assistance. This move resulted in rapid Soviet assistance, widely regarded by Western countries as a step towards a Cold War alliance between Cyprus and Russia. As soon as 23–24 December 1964,

3020-628: A member of the European Union . After the restoration of constitutional order and the return of Archbishop Makarios III to Cyprus in December 1974, Turkish troops remained, occupying the northeastern portion of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot parliament , led by the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş , proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognised only by Turkey. The events of

3171-677: A number of years but eventually they were restored. Today, Egypt and Cyprus share a very close strategic relationship. In the early 1980s, Cyprus sought new suppliers of arms in order to circumvent US and European embargoes, combined with an apparent unwillingness by the Soviet Union to supply further aid. From Brazil , a large consignment of new light armored vehicles was ordered in 1982, 15 EE-3 Jararaca armored reconnaissance vehicles (delivered 1984–1985), and 126 EE-9 Cascavel armored fighting vehicles (delivered 1984–1988). Faced with an urgent need for infantry-portable air-defense equipment,

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3322-541: A perimeter of containment around Kokkina, leaving the Turkish Cypriot village isolated from the rest of the island, and buffered only a narrow UN demilitarized zone after successfully achieving its objectives. Aware of the glaring deficiency of their military capabilities, the leadership of the Cypriot National Guard under General George Grivas was able to compel the civilian Government of Cyprus, under Archbishop Makarios to seek out foreign assistance for

3473-451: A precedent to be avoided, and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of EOKA. The Turkish Cypriots also viewed themselves as a distinct ethnic group of the island and believed in their having a separate right to self-determination from Greek Cypriots. Meanwhile, in the 1950s, Turkish leader Menderes considered Cyprus an "extension of Anatolia", rejected the partition of Cyprus along ethnic lines and favoured

3624-832: A result of a common ancient Greek ( Achaean ) genetic contribution, while Lebanese affinity can be explained through several migrations that took place from coastal Levant to Cyprus from the Neolithic (early farmers), the Iron Age (Phoenicians), and the Middle Ages (Maronites and other Levantine settlers during the Frankish era). The authors note however that the Calabrian samples used in the analysis were relatively small (n = 30 comparative dataset, n = 74 YHRD) and thus these results should be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, from

3775-544: A result of the operations during the summer of 1974, the Cyprus National Guard had gained important operational experience and despite the loss of territory, surprised NATO with its tenacious defense without air power, naval power, a severe lack of armour, and being outnumbered some 4-1. Immediately following the 1974 conflict, the Cypriot National Guard experienced a major depletion of its military capability due to lack of equipment and ammunition, compounded by

3926-575: A second invasion on 14 August. The invasion resulted in Morphou , Karpass , Famagusta and the Mesaoria coming under Turkish control. International pressure led to a ceasefire, and by then 36% of the island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots had been evicted from their homes in the north. At the same time, around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced to the north and settled in

4077-681: A semi-autonomous status, but they were still considered vassal subjects of the Great King. The island was conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 BC and Cypriot navy helped Alexander during the siege of Tyre (332 BC) . The Cypriot fleet was also sent to help Amphoterus . In addition, Alexander had two Cypriot generals Stasander and Stasanor both from the Soli and later both became satraps in Alexander's empire. Following Alexander's death,

4228-766: A short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 ( de jure until 1914). Cyprus was placed under the United Kingdom 's administration based on the Cyprus Convention in 1878 and was formally annexed by the UK in 1914. The future of the island became a matter of disagreement between the two prominent ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots . From

4379-727: A single 23mm gun each, radar, two TOPLITE electro-optical payloads, SATCOM , navigation systems, command and control systems, and more. Among others, the vessel is armed with two 12.7mm heavy machine guns but also it is Fitted for But Not With (FFBNW) a Rafael MLS-NLOS system. In late 2018, an option was exercised to purchase a second vessel of the type. In late 2018, the Cyprus Government purchased 24 Nora B-52 self-propelled 155mm heavy field howitzers from Serbia , along with 8 BOV M16 Miloš MRAPs / Light Armoured Vehicles and an unspecified number of options to purchase additional systems for both types. The acquisition of Nora B-52

4530-545: A smaller number of Greek troops, were able to prevent the loss of Nicosia (Including the International Airport which initially was successfully defended by elements of the Cyprus National Guard, later to be joined by ELDYK) and the Kato Pyrgos corridor during the second Turkish offensive, and stopped the offensive aimed at Larnaka, but were unable to support Famagusta due to lack of sufficient weaponry. As

4681-399: A surprise three-ship flypast of the funeral of Lt General Evangelos Florakis on 12 July 2002 (himself killed in the crash of Cypriot Air Command Bell-206L Long Ranger "112" on 10 July 2002 whilst observing a command and control exercise at night). The Mi-35s were initially supplied in an unusual matte-black (and presumably infra-red absorbent) camouflage suitable for night operations, but lacked

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4832-487: A variety of machine guns, mortars and a few anti-tank weapons (namely M20 Super Bazookas and a small number of PIAT weapons). The Greek Cypriots also possessed some Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, along with a variety of Bedford trucks and old US made jeeps . The Cyprus Naval Command became active circa 1963, following the outbreak of civil conflict between extremists within the Greek and Turkish ethnic communities of

4983-552: A wide and homogeneous genetic domain, along with the people of the Aegean Islands (including Crete ), Sicily , and southern Italy (including the Greek-speaking minorities of Apulia and Calabria), while the continental part of Greece, including Peloponnesus, appears as slightly differentiated, by clustering with the other Southern Balkan populations of Albania and Kosovo. The study calls this distinct genetic domain,

5134-510: Is Nicosia . Cyprus also shares land borders with Akrotiri and Dhekelia , a dependent territory of the United Kingdom . The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . Cyprus was first settled by hunter-gatherers around 13,000 years ago, with farming settlements emerging a few thousand years later. During the late Bronze Age , Cyprus, known in contemporary sources as Alashiya , developed an urbanised society closely connected to

5285-600: Is 14 months. Currently, only Greek Cypriots serve in the military. Legally, the Greek Cypriot community comprises the ethnic Greek population as well as Cypriots belonging to three Christian minorities—the Armenians , and Catholics of the Latin and Maronite Churches . Since 2008, service is mandatory for all members of the Greek Cypriot community and not only for ethnic Greek Cypriots. The current supreme commander

5436-399: Is a Greek military commander, as have been all of his predecessors. All male visitors, irrespective of what citizenship they hold, to the island of military age (16 and over) who have a parent of Cypriot extraction are also eligible for military service; to be rendered exempt from military service they are required to obtain an exit visa from a Defence Ministry office in order to legally leave

5587-582: Is a UNESCO World Heritage Site , dating to approximately 6800 BC. During the Late Bronze Age , from around 1650 BC Cyprus (identified in whole or part as Alashiya in contemporary texts) became more connected to the wider Mediterranean world driven by the trade in copper extracted from the Troodos Mountains, which stimulated the development of urbanised settlements across the island, with records suggesting that Cyprus at this time

5738-546: Is believed to have taken place following the Late Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece from 1100 to 1050 BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from this period. Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology , being the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis , and home to King Cinyras , Teucer and Pygmalion . Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence at Kition , which

5889-706: Is no longer thought to be operational. The four remaining Gazelle anti-tank helicopters are thought to have undergone an overhaul, reportedly completed in August 2014 at Valence-Chabeuil airport by Aerotec Group. The four Gazelle helicopters were assigned to 450ME / 1st Platoon, which has been implemented at Andreas Papandreou Air Base (in Paphos district) following the closure of Lakatamia air base (in Nicosia district) in April 2013. Their prior host unit, 449MAE Helicopter Squadron,

6040-451: Is not used officially; "Republic of Cyprus" is used instead. Hunter-gatherers first arrived on Cyprus around 13–12,000 years ago (11,000 to 10,000 BC), based on dating of sites like Aetokremnos on the south coast and the inland site of Vretsia Roudias. The arrival of the first humans coincides with the extinction of the 75 cm (2.46 ft) high Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus and 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall Cyprus dwarf elephant ,

6191-576: Is protected from above by my God, Hellenism will be lost, only when the world is gone." Archbishop Kyprianos' fictional response to Kucuk Mehmet's threat to execute the Greek Orthodox Christian bishops of Cyprus, in Vasilis Michaelides epic poem "The 9th of July of 1821 in Nicosia, Cyprus", written in 1884–1895. The poem is considered a key literary expression of Greek Cypriot Enosis sentiment. During

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6342-481: Is the low frequency of haplogroups I, R1a among Greek Cypriots because the mainland Greek population has received considerable migrations during the Byzantine era and the Middle Ages from other Balkanic populations, such as Slavs, Aromanians (Vlachs), and Albanians (Arvanites), while the biggest differentiating characteristic between Greek Cypriots and Middle Easterners is the much lower frequency of haplogroup J1 among

6493-728: The Arcadian dialect and those of Pamphylia and Cyprus indicates that the migration came from Achaea . The Achaean tribe may have been an original population of the Peloponnese, Pamphylia, and Cyprus, living in the latter prior to the Dorian invasion , and not a subsequent immigrant group; the Doric elements in Arcadian are lacking in Cypriot. Achaeans settled among the old population, and founded Salamis . The epic Cypria , dating to

6644-535: The Church of Cyprus , an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity . In regard to the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus , the term also includes Maronites , Armenians , and Catholics of the Latin Church ("Latins"), who were given the option of being included in either the Greek or Turkish communities and voted to join the former due to a shared religion. Cyprus

6795-540: The Classical Latin word for copper through the phrase aes Cyprium , "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum . The standard demonym relating to Cyprus or its people or culture is Cypriot . The terms Cypriote and Cyprian (later a personal name ) are also used, though less frequently. The state's official name in Greek literally translates to "Cypriot Republic" in English, but this translation

6946-743: The Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, several Greek Cypriots left for Greece to join the Greek forces. In response, the Ottoman governor of Cyprus arrested and executed 486 prominent Greek Cypriots, including the Archbishop of Cyprus, Kyprianos , and four other bishops. In 1828, modern Greece's first president Ioannis Kapodistrias called for union of Cyprus with Greece, and numerous minor uprisings took place. Reaction to Ottoman misrule led to uprisings by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, although none were successful. After centuries of neglect by

7097-454: The Greek military junta . This action precipitated the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July, which led to the capture of the present-day territory of Northern Cyprus and the displacement of over 150,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots. A separate Turkish Cypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983; the move was widely condemned by the international community , with Turkey alone recognising

7248-481: The Republic of Cyprus , is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea . It is geographically a part of West Asia , but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeast European . Cyprus is the third largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is east of Greece , north of Egypt , south of Turkey , and west of Lebanon and Syria . Its capital and largest city

7399-532: The United Nations and the international community. The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions in Cyprus, and hundreds of paratroopers were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrenia, where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established; while off the Kyrenia coast, Turkish troop ships landed 6,000 men as well as tanks, trucks and armoured vehicles. Three days later, when

7550-639: The division of his empire , and the subsequent Wars of the Diadochi , Cyprus became part of the Hellenistic empire of Ptolemaic Egypt . It was during this period that the island was fully Hellenised . In 58 BC Cyprus was acquired by the Roman Republic and became Roman Cyprus in 22 BC. When the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 286, Cyprus became part of

7701-456: The eurozone . The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀠𐀪𐀍 , ku-pi-ri-jo , meaning "Cypriot" (Greek: Κύπριος ), written in Linear B syllabic script. The classical Greek form of the name is Κύπρος ( Kýpros ). The etymology of the name is unknown. Suggestions include: Through overseas trade, the island has given its name to

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7852-527: The "Mediterranean genetic continuum". A 2017 archaeogenetics study, concluded that both the Mycenaean Greeks and the Minoans were genetically closely related, and that both are closely related, but not identical, to modern Greek populations. The F ST between the sampled Bronze Age populations and present-day West Eurasians was estimated, finding that Mycenaeans are least differentiated from

8003-423: The 1960 constitution, which would have adjusted the distribution of manpower and voting power for all civil and military services. This adjustment was aimed at giving greater representation and influence to the Greek Cypriot majority , which at the time formed around 82% of the island's indigenous population. Military service in the Republic of Cyprus is mandatory for males. Today, the obligatory service period

8154-411: The 19th century onwards, the Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis , union with Greece , which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s. The Turkish Cypriot population initially advocated the continuation of the British rule, then demanded the annexation of the island to Turkey, and in the 1950s, together with Turkey, established a policy of taksim , the partition of Cyprus and the creation of

8305-406: The 2011 Cypriot census. There is a notable community of Cypriots and people of Cypriot descent in Greece. In Athens, the Greek Cypriot community numbers ca. 55,000 people. There is also a large Greek Cypriot diaspora, particularly in the United Kingdom . Cypriot cuisine , as with other Greek cuisine , was imprinted with the spices and herbs made common as a result of extensive trade links within

8456-441: The 2011 census, 659,115 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 667,398 Cypriot citizens and over 78% of the 840,407 total residents of the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. These figures do not include the 29,321 citizens of Greece residing in Cyprus, ethnic Greeks recorded as citizens of other countries, or the population of Northern Cyprus . The majority of Greek Cypriots are members of

8607-454: The 7th century BC, may have originated in Cyprus. The Byzantine era profoundly molded Greek Cypriot culture. The Greek Orthodox Christian legacy bestowed on Greek Cypriots in this period would live on during the succeeding centuries of foreign domination. Because Cyprus was never the final goal of any external ambition, but simply fell under the domination of whichever power was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean , destroying its civilization

8758-438: The British and went to Serbia ’s assistance, in order to fulfill her Treaty obligations under the Serbo-Greek pact of May 1913. It gave Greece a golden “opportunity” in achieving enosis with Cyprus. Alternatively it was a “lost opportunity” when the Zaimis administration declined the British proposal. In 1923, under the Treaty of Lausanne , the nascent Turkish republic relinquished any claim to Cyprus, and in 1925 it

8909-430: The Church of Cyprus was in a position to end the constant encroachments of the Roman Catholic Church. Ottoman rule of Cyprus was at times indifferent, at times oppressive, depending on the temperaments of the sultans and local officials. The ratio of Muslims to Christians fluctuated throughout the period of Ottoman domination. In 1777–78, 47,000 Muslims constituted a majority over the island's 37,000 Christians. By 1872,

9060-448: The Cypriot Defence Ministry announced the planned acquisition of eight helicopters: four SA-342L Gazelle scout anti-tank helicopters to be acquired from France with night and all-weather capability, and four attack helicopters to be selected by tender. The four existing Gazelle helicopters in the Air Force would be upgraded, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also being sought as part of a combined Unmanned Air System package. In 2018,

9211-513: The Cypriot Government was able to procure 20 firing units of Strela-2/SA-7B Grail anti-aircraft missiles along with 324 live rounds from neighboring Syria in 1984. Major arms orders were also placed with France, one of the few European powers still willing to support weapon deliveries to Cyprus. In 1984, Cyprus purchased from France a total of 27 VAB-VCI infantry fighting vehicles with 20mm cannon (delivered 1985–1988) along with 100 VAB-VTT armored personnel carriers (delivered 1985–1988). In 1987,

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9362-399: The Cypriot gunboat Arion further up the coast towards Kokkina. The Arion was strafed with guns and rockets, causing superficial damage. As the Arion successfully made her escape using evasive manoeuvres, an F-100C Super Sabre, piloted by Cpt. Cengiz Topel of 112 Filo was shot down by a Cypriot 40mm anti-aircraft gun emplacement on the shoreline. The loss of the Phaethon was a severe shock to

9513-562: The Cyprus National Guard Air Command purchased a batch of six Aerospatiale SA-342L Gazelle scout anti-tank helicopters with 1200 Euromissile HOT-2 wire-guided anti-tank missiles (the interchangeable live rounds to be shared with the Army for use on their VAB-VCAC tank destroyers). The six aircraft were delivered from January 1988 onward, and were issued the serial numbers 351, 352, 353, 354, 355 and 356, drawn from Aerospatiale 21XX and 22XX series construction numbers. Of these aircraft, five examples (excluding 351) have been noted in regular use with

9664-399: The Cyprus National Guard airborne forces, suggesting number 351 had been withdrawn for use as spare parts, or as a technical training air frame, prior to 2004. The Gazelles were delivered in a three-tone desert camouflage consisting of light sand, dark sand and drab-olive tones - this camouflage has been retained to the present day. All aircraft utilize a low-visibility Cyprus flag fin-flash and

9815-438: The Cyprus Navy received a Sa’ar 62 . It was purchased by the Republic of Cyprus through a transnational agreement with Israel and was built by the Israeli shipyards in Haifa. The new vessel has a displacement of 430 tons, an overall length of 62 meters, a maximum speed of 32 knots, and carries up to 30 crewmembers plus a Special Forces unit. Installed on the vessel are multiple systems including 2 Rafael Typhoon Weapon Stations with

9966-511: The Cyprus Republic in the mid-1980s. In 1978, Egyptian commando forces raided Larnaca International Airport in an effort to seize a hijacked Greek Cypriot airliner. Greek Cypriot commando forces (LOK) resisted the Egyptian forces, resulting in a sustained gun battle with the death of 15 Egyptian commandos and 3 Egyptian Air Force aircrew and an additional 15 Egyptian commandos hospitalised, an Egyptian C130 destroyed and Egyptian Jeeps destroyed. Cairo had severed diplomatic relations with Nicosia for

10117-414: The EOKA organisation was founded, seeking union with Greece through armed struggle. At the same time the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT), calling for Taksim, or partition, was established by the Turkish Cypriots as a counterweight. British officials also tolerated the creation of the Turkish underground organisation TMT The Secretary of State for the Colonies in a letter dated 15 July 1958 had advised

10268-400: The EOKA-B ultra-nationalist organisation, overthrew the civilian Government of Archbishop Makarios in Nicosia and attempted to assassinate him by using tanks and infantry to storm the Presidential Palace. Makarios escaped, but the confrontation in Nicosia resulted in multiple casualties as the National Guard units engaged in a gunfight with Makarios' loyalist forces. Since Kyrenia in the north of

10419-555: The East Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire ), and would remain so for some 900 years. Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot community. Beginning in 649, Cyprus endured repeated attacks and raids launched by Umayyad Caliphate . Many were quick raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were killed and great wealth carried off or destroyed. The city of Salamis

10570-416: The Empire. There are no Byzantine churches which survive from this period, and the island entered a period of impoverishment. Full Byzantine rule was restored in 965, when Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas scored decisive victories on land and sea. In 1156 Raynald of Châtillon and Thoros II of Armenia brutally sacked Cyprus over a period of three weeks, stealing so much plunder and capturing so many of

10721-417: The Governor of Cyprus not to act against TMT despite its illegal actions so as not to harm British relations with the Turkish government. During British rule, the future of the island became a matter of disagreement between the two prominent ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots , who made up 77% of the population in 1960, and Turkish Cypriots , who made up 18% of the population. From the 19th century onwards,

10872-836: The Greek Cypriot military leadership enacted the "Aphrodite-2" defence plan to coordinate a containment and resistance to the invasion forces. This plan, however, proved to be ineffective in either containing or repelling the Turkish forces already ashore. At the same time, the Greek Cypriot EOKA-B forces, subordinate to their own de facto leadership, enacted their own interpretation of the existing Aphrodite defence plan (sometimes referred to historically as Aphrodite-3 or Hephaestus) and attacked multiple Turkish Cypriot enclaves simultaneously, causing heavy Turkish Cypriot non-combatant casualties and rounding up an estimated 20,000 Turkish Cypriot POWs who were interred at Limassol until later that year. Cypriot National Guard forces, supported by

11023-568: The Greek Cypriot police. The violence resulted in the death of 364 Turkish and 174 Greek Cypriots, destruction of 109 Turkish Cypriot or mixed villages and displacement of 25,000–30,000 Turkish Cypriots. The crisis resulted in the end of the Turkish Cypriot involvement in the administration and their claiming that it had lost its legitimacy; the nature of this event is still controversial. In some areas, Greek Cypriots prevented Turkish Cypriots from travelling and entering government buildings, while some Turkish Cypriots willingly withdrew due to

11174-460: The Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis , union with Greece , which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s. The Turkish Cypriot population initially advocated the continuation of the British rule, then demanded the annexation of the island to Turkey, and in the 1950s, together with Turkey, established a policy of taksim , the partition of Cyprus and the creation of a Turkish polity in

11325-617: The Greek sub-populations, Cretan Greeks were found to be the closest to Cypriots. In terms of Rst pairwise genetic differences, which indicate deeper shared paternal ancestry than shared haplotypes, Greeks appear genetically close to Cypriots, and equidistant from Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots have similar frequencies for their major patrilineal haplogroups, with the main subclades for both being J2a-M410 (23.8% and 20.3% resp.), E-M78 (12.8% and 13.9% resp.) and G2-P287 (12.5% and 13.7% resp.). The biggest differentiating characteristic between Greek Cypriots and mainland Greeks

11476-522: The Greek world. During the whole period of the Persian rule, there is a continuity in the reign of the Cypriot kings and during their rebellions they were crushed by Persian rulers from Asia Minor, which is an indication that the Cypriots were ruling the island with directly regulated relations with the Great King and there was not a Persian satrap . The Kingdoms of Cyprus enjoyed special privileges and

11627-426: The National Guard leadership, and was compounded by further casualties and material losses at Kato Pyrgos, a nearby Greek Cypriot village which was bombarded on 8 and 9 August in an effort to dislodge National Guardsmen using its hilltops for directing artillery fire with radios. Having sustained manpower and material losses as a result of these air strikes, the Cypriot National Guard pulled back slightly and solidified

11778-416: The National Guard was forced to develop alternative means to armament and self-sustainment. A Technical Corps was established to produce and retrofit a series of improvised armoured vehicles from unneeded ATS-712 Soviet tractors, resulting in 10 locally produced "TS" armoured personnel carriers. A lack of spare parts meant that by the time of the 1974 military coup against Archbishop Makarios, the National Guard

11929-538: The Ottoman sultan acted as ethnarch , or leader of the Greek nation, and gained secular powers as a result of the gradual dysfunction of Ottoman rule, for instance in adjudicating justice and in the collection of taxes. Turkish settlers suffered alongside their Greek Cypriot neighbors, and the two groups together endured centuries of oppressive governance from Constantinople . A minority of Greek Cypriots converted to Islam during this period, and are sometimes referred to as "neo-Muslims" by historians. Politically,

12080-399: The Ottoman Empire, the poverty of most of the people and the ever-present tax collectors fueled Greek nationalism, and by the 20th century the idea of union with newly independent Greece was firmly rooted among Greek Cypriots. Under Ottoman rule, numeracy, school enrolment and literacy rates were all low. They persisted some time after Ottoman rule ended, and then increased rapidly during

12231-754: The Ottoman Empire. Names of many dishes came to reflect the sources of the ingredients from the many lands . Coffee houses pervasively spread throughout the island into all major towns and countless villages. The everyday language of Greek Cypriots is Cypriot Greek , a dialect of Modern Greek . It shares certain characteristics with varieties of Crete , the Dodecanese and Chios , as well as those of Asia Minor . Greek Cypriots are generally educated in Standard Modern Greek, though they tend to speak it with an accent and preserve some Greek Cypriot grammar. A 2017 study, found that Cypriots belong to

12382-672: The Turkish Armed Forces attempted to create a new road that would have connected occupied Arsos straight to Pyla , bypassing the SBAs, when UN forces tried stopping them, the Turkish personnel attacked and wounded 3 UN soldiers and as such the Cypriot National Guard was placed on alert and the change of the Chief of the National Guard was delayed due to the military being placed on alert. Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ( / ˈ s aɪ p r ə s / ), officially

12533-453: The Turkish Cypriot militia units active in that region. As a necessity of mounting such an assault, Grivas required a naval presence off the coast of Kokkina, in order to bombard the enclave from the sea, and to prevent any other shipping from interfering. Consequently, the Phaethon and the Arion were utilised in the assault and commenced their assault with broadsides of 40mm and 20mm gunfire into

12684-524: The US President Lyndon B. Johnson on 5 June, warning that the US would not stand beside Turkey in case of a consequential Soviet invasion of Turkish territory. Meanwhile, by 1964, enosis was a Greek policy and would not be abandoned; Makarios and the Greek prime minister Georgios Papandreou agreed that enosis should be the ultimate aim and King Constantine wished Cyprus "a speedy union with

12835-819: The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, South Africa and Europe, although most left Cyprus before 1974. There are today estimated to be 335,000 Greek Cypriot emigrants living in Great Britain. The majority of the Greek Cypriots in Great Britain currently live in England ; there is an estimate of around 3,000 in Wales and 1,000 in Scotland . By the early 1990s, Greek Cypriot society enjoyed

12986-706: The ability of the force, by academic researchers. Europe's defence is present in Cyprus through Permanent Structured Cooperation . The government had argued for it to increase deterrence against any intervention on the island. Cyprus has made available the military base in Paphos and the naval base in Zygi , along with other facilities. These have been upgraded and equipped with electronic surveillance systems. The force has in recent years experienced exponential draft dodging (in Greek: φυγοστρατία). Many policies have been designed, yet

13137-592: The aim of eliminating the beachhead, and preventing more weapons being delivered to Turkish Cypriot militia groups. The military confrontation at Kokkina in August 1964 between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot forces saw the Greek-Cypriot force mobilised for the first time to attempt to eliminate a fortified coastal enclave in the Tylliria region of the island, in an effort to stop Turkish vessels putting ashore there to offload food, weapons and ammunition for

13288-426: The annexation of the whole island to Turkey. Nationalistic slogans centred on the idea that "Cyprus is Turkish" and the ruling party declared Cyprus to be a part of the Turkish homeland that was vital to its security. Upon realising that the fact that the Turkish Cypriot population was only 20% of the islanders made annexation unfeasible, the national policy was changed to favour partition. The slogan "Partition or Death"

13439-745: The biggest percentage of Human Resources in the case of full mobilisation of the National Guard. Army- It consists of a number of Brigade Formations and Regular Regimental Groups: Navy- It consists of: Air Force- It consists of: The Cypriot National Guard, in its existent form, was initially mobilised circa mid-1963 as a Greek Cypriot infantry force with some small elements dedicated to artillery , anti-armour and light armour forces. This force inherited some mixed equipment from its pre-civil war organisation, including 54 British-made 25-pounder gun-howitzers , 40 Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car (Mk. IVF), 4 Shorland light armoured cars, 2 Daimler Dingo light armoured cars, 5 C-17 light armoured trucks and

13590-474: The calls of the Turkish Cypriot administration. Turkish Cypriots started living in enclaves . The republic's structure was changed, unilaterally, by Makarios, and Nicosia was divided by the Green Line , with the deployment of UNFICYP troops. In 1964, Turkey threatened to invade Cyprus in response to the continuing Cypriot intercommunal violence , but this was stopped by a strongly worded telegram from

13741-491: The concept of enosis – unification with the Greek "motherland" – became important to literate Greek Cypriots after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. A movement for the realization of enosis gradually formed, in which the Church of Cyprus played a dominant role during the Cyprus dispute . "Hellenism is a race as aged as the world, Nobody could be found to eliminate it, Nobody, for it

13892-405: The conflict, two boats were re-floated by Turkish troops and transferred to Golcuk Naval Museum , Turkey (on display with incorrect pennant numbers 11 and 12). Turkey commenced an air and sea invasion of northern Cyprus, under the codename "Attila-1" which had the anticipated aim of seizing Kyrenia as a beachhead with amphibious forces, whilst simultaneously establishing a beachhead from Kyrenia to

14043-599: The decision of the Ottoman Empire to join the war on the side of the Central Powers , on 5 November 1914 the British Empire formally annexed Cyprus and declared the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and Sudan a Sultanate and British protectorate . In October 1915, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece, ruled by King Constantine I of Greece , on the condition that Greece join the war on the side of

14194-607: The early hours. The Cyprus National Guard Naval Command quickly ordered its two motor torpedo boats, T-1 (under the command of Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolaos Verikios) and T-3 (under the command of Lieutenant Elefterios Tsomakis), both based at Kyrenia , to attack the Turkish flotilla directly. Both vessels were promptly sunk by combined air and sea attack. The rest of the Cyprus Navy vessels were scuttled by their own crews at Naval Base Chrysulis in Boghazi on 14 August 1974. After

14345-485: The enclave on 6 August. This action was coordinated with battery fire from six land-based 25-pounder guns and around a dozen mortars used by ground forces to besiege the enclave from the south and south-west. The siege continued until 8 August during which the Turkish Government opted to intervene with air strikes, as it became clear to all parties that Kokkina's defences were likely to collapse, regardless of

14496-593: The ensuing occupation and the declaration of independence by the TRNC have been condemned by United Nations resolutions, which are reaffirmed by the Security Council every year. Attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute have continued. In 2004, the Annan Plan , drafted by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan , was put to a referendum in both Cypriot administrations. 65% of Turkish Cypriots voted in support of

14647-549: The entire island, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone , with the exception of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia , which remain under the UK's control according to the London and Zürich Agreements . However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts: the area under the effective control of the Republic, in the south and west and comprising about 59% of

14798-505: The equipment ordered from France in this year was delivered from 1990–1991. In 1990, Greece supplied Cyprus with 81 ELVO Leonidas-2 (4K-7FA) armored personnel carriers, which were fielded to provide the Greek ELDYK Army Regiment in Cyprus with a Mechanized Infantry vehicle force. These were followed in 1996–1998 by a batch of 52 French-made AMX-30B main battle tanks supplied from Hellenic Army surplus, along with

14949-767: The first batch of new French tanks were purchased to replace the T-34s that had been removed from service - a total of 15 AMX-30B2 main battle tanks and 1 AMX-30D recovery vehicle, all delivered the following year. Also in 1987, Cyprus purchased from France a unit of 6 SA-342L Gazelle scout anti-tank helicopters and 18 VAB-VCAC guided-missile tank-destroyers, along with 1200 HOT-2 anti-tank missiles (interchangeable for both airborne and ground launcher platforms), all delivered in 1988. A further 2 VAB-VTT armored personnel carriers were ordered as options in 1987 (delivered in 1988) along with 250 MILAN-2 anti-tank missile rounds and an unknown number of firing units (possibly 45). In June 1987,

15100-420: The first significant demographic change since antiquity took place with the formation of a Muslim community. Soldiers who fought in the conquest settled on the island and Turkish peasants and craftsmen were brought to the island from Anatolia . This new community also included banished Anatolian tribes, "undesirable" persons and members of various "troublesome" Muslim sects, as well as a number of new converts on

15251-743: The former Ottoman Empire, including Cyprus and Asia Minor with a capital in Constantinople , and was actively pursued by the Cypriot Orthodox Church , which had its members educated in Greece. These religious officials, together with Greek military officers and professionals, some of whom still pursued the Megali Idea , would later found the guerrilla organisation EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston or National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters). The Greek Cypriots viewed

15402-482: The help of their subject millets , or religious communities. The millet system allowed the Greek Cypriot community to survive, administered on behalf of Constantinople by the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus. Cypriot Greeks were now able to take control of the land they had been working on for centuries. Although religiously tolerant, Ottoman rule was generally harsh and inefficient. The patriarch serving

15553-482: The island as historically Greek and believed that union with Greece was a natural right. In the 1950s, the pursuit of enosis became a part of the Greek national policy. Initially, the Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of the British rule. However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for enosis , as they saw the union of Crete with Greece, which led to the exodus of Cretan Turks , as

15704-427: The island of Cyprus . As outlined by the tripartite Treaty of Alliance (1960) and defined by the early Constitution of 1960–1963, Cyprus was entitled to an army of 2,000 men, to be made up of 60% Greek and 40% Turkish personnel. The Cyprus army was a short-lived volunteer force from 1960-4. The first elected President of the Republic of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios III , proposed thirteen constitutional amendments to

15855-573: The island was not expected to present much armed resistance to the coup, many forces which were stationed there to fend off a threatened Turkish invasion were sent to Nicosia on 15 and 16 July to enforce the coup in the Capital. Kyrenia was thus, poorly defended when the Turkish invasion began on 20 July. Makarios escaped an initial attempt to capture him at the Archbishopric in Nicosia, and fled to Paphos. The naval patrol vessel Leventis (No.15)

16006-541: The island's area, and the north, administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% of the island's area. Another nearly 4% of the island's area is covered by the UN buffer zone . The international community considers the northern part of the island to be territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law and amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became

16157-664: The island, while the late king's Venetian widow, Queen Catherine Cornaro , reigned as figurehead. Venice formally annexed the Kingdom of Cyprus in 1489, following the abdication of Catherine. The Venetians fortified Nicosia by building the Walls of Nicosia , and used it as an important commercial hub. Throughout Venetian rule, the Ottoman Empire frequently raided Cyprus. In 1539 the Ottomans destroyed Limassol and so fearing

16308-443: The island. The Ottomans abolished the feudal system previously in place and applied the millet system to Cyprus, under which non-Muslim peoples were governed by their own religious authorities. In a reversal from the days of Latin rule, the head of the Church of Cyprus was invested as leader of the Greek Cypriot population and acted as mediator between Christian Greek Cypriots and the Ottoman authorities. This status ensured that

16459-487: The island. The Cyprus National Guard has since 2016 aimed to move towards semi-professionalization. In the scope of this change, the military serviced time was reduced from 24 months to 14 months, whilst about 3,000 professional soldiers were hired. Even though long wished for by the public, these changes have been said to be no more than a political expediency. The way in which the semi-professionalization has been conducted has been illustrated as unprofessional and undermining

16610-594: The island. At the outset of operational status, the Cyprus Naval Command was manned by Greek Navy officers and junior officers, whilst the sailors were primarily Greek Cypriot conscripts of educated backgrounds. The first equipment made available to the Cyprus Naval Command was a set of three ex-German WW2-era R-boats (two of the R-151 class called P-01 Arion and P-02 Phaethon , and one of the R-218 class under

16761-530: The island. In addition, tax collection was also part of the heavy oppressive attitude of the occupiers to the locals of the island, in that it was now being conducted by the Latin churches themselves. The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 replaced Venetian rule. Despite the inherent oppression of foreign subjugation, the period of Ottoman rule (1570–1878) had a limited impact on Greek Cypriot culture. The Ottomans tended to administer their multicultural empire with

16912-617: The issue has not been effectively managed. The National Guard is an interdisciplinary force. It consists of the Army, Navy and Air Force as mentioned above. The General Staff of the National Guard is the supreme hierarchical step and includes the Chief, the Staff, the Arms / Body Divisions and Organizations and its Organizational Units. The force heavily relies on the Reserves (Εφεδρεία), making up

17063-520: The leading citizens and their families for ransom, that the island took generations to recover. Several Greek priests were mutilated and sent away to Constantinople. In 1185 Isaac Komnenos , a member of the Byzantine imperial family, took over Cyprus and declared it independent of the Empire. In 1191, during the Third Crusade , Richard I of England captured the island from Isaac. He used it as

17214-421: The minority Turkish Cypriots a permanent veto, 30% in parliament and administration, and granting the three mother-states guarantor rights. However, the division of power as foreseen by the constitution soon resulted in legal impasses and discontent on both sides, and nationalist militants started training again, with the military support of Greece and Turkey respectively. The Greek Cypriot leadership believed that

17365-423: The mother country". Greece dispatched 10,000 troops to Cyprus to counter a possible Turkish invasion. The crisis of 1963–64 had brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displaced more than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves and brought the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta under Dimitrios Ioannides carried out

17516-472: The name Dedalos). All three vessels were in service by August 1964, having been purchased from a shipyard in Piraeus, Greece by a private sponsor named A. Leventis. The three vessels were in poor condition due to their age, and had to be refurbished in Greece before delivery to Cyprus. On 6 August 1964, the Cypriot National Guard was mobilised to intervene in the ongoing inter-ethnic confrontation at Kokkina ,

17667-635: The new state. These events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute . Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean. The country has an advanced high-income economy . The Republic of Cyprus has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2008, Cyprus joined

17818-410: The next decade and a half, enosis was a key issue for Greek Cypriots, and a key cause of events leading up to the 1974 coup , which prompted the Turkish invasion and occupation of the northern part of the island. Cyprus remains divided today, with the two communities almost completely separated. Many of those whom lost their homes, lands and possessions during the Turkish invasion, emigrated mainly to

17969-553: The north. Cyprus was granted independence in 1960, following an armed campaign spearheaded by EOKA. As per the Zürich and London Agreement , Cyprus officially attained independence on 16 August 1960, and at the time had a total population of 573,566; of whom 442,138 (77.1%) were Greeks, 104,320 (18.2%) Turks, and 27,108 (4.7%) others. The UK retained the two Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia , while government posts and public offices were allocated by ethnic quotas, giving

18120-456: The northern part of the island. In January 1950, the Church of Cyprus organised a referendum under the supervision of clerics and with no Turkish Cypriot participation, where 96% of the participating Greek Cypriots voted in favour of enosis . The Greeks were 80.2% of the total island's population at the time ( census 1946 ). Restricted autonomy under a constitution was proposed by the British administration but eventually rejected. In 1955

18271-409: The northern suburbs of Nicosia (the site of two Turkish fortified enclaves that could be used as strongholds to seize northern Nicosia) using parachute forces. The attack was heavily supported by a daylight air campaign, allowing Cypriot A/A flak to be suppressed to the extent that Turkish transport planes could drop parachute forces north of Nicosia in broad daylight from 20 July to 23 July. In disarray,

18422-503: The only large mammals native to the island. Neolithic farming communities emerged on the island by around 10,500 years ago (8500 BC). Remains of an eight-month-old cat were discovered buried with a human body at a separate Neolithic site in Cyprus. The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old (7500 BC), predating ancient Egyptian civilisation and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly. The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia

18573-409: The optional FLIR turret and identification friend-or-foe systems made available for the more advanced Russian Mi-24PN. Aside from their monotone camouflage, the aircraft carried a small, high-contrast Cyprus Republic tail fin flag, and a high visibility Hellenic Air Force styled blue-on-white roundel on the tail at the midpoint. Bright red danger markings were applied to the rotor tips and to the end of

18724-512: The period of British colonial rule (1878–1960), an efficient colonial administration was established, but government and education were administered along ethnic lines, accentuating differences. For example, the education system was organized with two Boards of Education, one Greek and one Turkish, controlled by Athens and Istanbul , respectively. The resulting Greco-Turkish educational systems emphasized linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences and downplayed traditional ties between

18875-540: The plan and 74% Greek Cypriots voted against the plan, claiming that it disproportionately favoured Turkish Cypriots and gave unreasonable influence over the nation to Turkey. In total, 66.7% of the voters rejected the Annan Plan . On 1 May 2004 Cyprus joined the European Union , together with nine other countries. Cyprus was accepted into the EU as a whole, although the EU legislation is suspended in Northern Cyprus until

19026-546: The planned flight path. The aircraft was destroyed, and its two pilots killed. On 5 July 2006, a National Guard Mi-35P Hind attack helicopter (serial number 822) crashed near the Paphos-Limassol motorway shortly after departing from Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos. The aircraft was written off and both crew members (a Russian instructor and Cypriot student) killed. The SA-342L Gazelle anti-tank helicopter force remains in service to present day, although example 356

19177-533: The population of the island had risen to 144,000, comprising 44,000 Muslims and 100,000 Christians. The Muslim population included numerous crypto-Christians , including the Linobambaki , a crypto-Catholic community that arose due to religious persecution of the Catholic community by the Ottoman authorities; this community would assimilate into the Turkish Cypriot community during British rule. As soon as

19328-455: The populations of Greece, Cyprus, Albania, and Italy. A 2017 study, found that both Greek Cypriots' and Turkish Cypriots' patrilineal ancestry derives primarily from a single pre-Ottoman local gene pool. The frequency of total haplotypes shared between Greek and Turkish Cypriots is 7-8%, with analysis showing that none of these being found in Turkey, thus not supporting a Turkish origin for

19479-470: The properties of the displaced Greek Cypriots. Among a variety of sanctions against Turkey, in mid-1975 the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using US-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. There were 1,534 Greek Cypriots and 502 Turkish Cypriots missing as a result of the fighting from 1963 to 1974. The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over

19630-713: The rights given to Turkish Cypriots under the 1960 constitution were too extensive and designed the Akritas plan , which was aimed at reforming the constitution in favour of Greek Cypriots, persuading the international community about the correctness of the changes and violently subjugating Turkish Cypriots in a few days should they not accept the plan. Tensions were heightened when Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III called for constitutional changes , which were rejected by Turkey and opposed by Turkish Cypriots. Intercommunal violence erupted on 21 December 1963, when two Turkish Cypriots were killed at an incident involving

19781-401: The shared haplotypes. No shared haplotypes were observed between Greek Cypriots and mainland Turkish populations, while total haplotypes shared between Turkish Cypriots and mainland Turks was 3%. Both Cypriot groups show close genetic affinity to Calabrian (southern Italy) and Lebanese patrilineages. The study states that the genetic affinity between Calabrians and Cypriots can be explained as

19932-529: The summer of 1974 dominate the politics on the island, as well as Greco-Turkish relations . Turkish settlers have been settled in the north with the encouragement of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot states. The Republic of Cyprus considers their presence a violation of the Geneva Convention , whilst many Turkish settlers have since severed their ties to Turkey and their second generation considers Cyprus to be their homeland. The Turkish invasion,

20083-610: The tail boom. The Cypriot Mi-35 helicopters were initially equipped for the deployment of fixed-mount 30mm heavy cannon, and a capacity for 80mm (3.1 inch) S-8 rockets in AP and HE-FRAG configurations, as well as for anti-tank missiles in the 9K114 and 9M120 versions. On 10 September 2005, National Guard Pilatus PC-9M turboprop aircraft "902" crashed into a church bell tower while performing an unauthorized flight maneuver near Kollossi in Limassol Cyprus, having deviated 80 km from

20234-595: The twentieth century. In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the Congress of Berlin , Cyprus was leased to the British Empire which de facto took over its administration in 1878 (though, in terms of sovereignty, Cyprus remained a de jure Ottoman territory until 5 November 1914, together with Egypt and Sudan ) in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as

20385-430: The two Cypriot communities. The two groups were encouraged to view themselves as extensions of their respective motherlands, leading to the development of two distinct nationalities with antagonistic loyalties. The importance of religion within the Greek Cypriot community was reinforced when the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, Makarios III , was elected the first president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. For

20536-549: The upper classes, a growing Greek middle ranks , and the Lusignan royal household even marrying Greeks. This included King John II of Cyprus who married Helena Palaiologina . In 1570, a full-scale Ottoman assault with 60,000 troops brought the island under Ottoman control, despite stiff resistance by the inhabitants of Nicosia and Famagusta. Ottoman forces capturing Cyprus massacred many Greek and Armenian Christian inhabitants. The previous Latin elite were destroyed and

20687-409: The wartime economic collapse of the country. A small armored unit of 11 surviving T-34/85 tanks continued to operate in service until circa 1985, albeit in poor mechanical condition with lack of spare parts. Small numbers of other armored vehicles (including re-engined Marmon Herrington Mk-IV F armored cars) and artillery guns from the pre-war period also continued in service until the economic revival of

20838-542: The wider Mediterranean world. Cyprus experienced waves of settlement by Mycenaean Greeks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC . It was subsequently occupied by several major powers , including the empires of the Assyrians , Egyptians and Persians , from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great . Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt , the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire , Arab caliphates for

20989-535: The worst, the Venetians also fortified Famagusta and Kyrenia . Although the Lusignan French aristocracy remained the dominant social class in Cyprus throughout the medieval period, the former assumption that Greeks were treated only as serfs on the island is no longer considered by academics to be accurate. It is now accepted that the medieval period saw increasing numbers of Greek Cypriots elevated to

21140-617: Was declared a British crown colony . During the Second World War , many Greek and Turkish Cypriots enlisted in the Cyprus Regiment . The Greek Cypriot population, meanwhile, had become hopeful that the British administration would lead to enosis . The idea of enosis was historically part of the Megali Idea , a greater political ambition of a Greek state encompassing the territories with large Greek populations in

21291-520: Was destroyed and never rebuilt. Byzantine control remained stronger in the northern coast, the Arabs exerted more influence in the south. In 688, Emperor Justinian II and Caliph Abd al-Malik signed a treaty whereby Cyprus would be paying an equal amount of tribute to the Caliphate and tax to the Empire, but would remain politically neutral to both while being retained as a province administered by

21442-457: Was disbanded with the closure of Lakatamia AFB. In February 2017, the Cyprus Navy was given an offshore patrol vessel by the Sultanate of Oman . The Al Mabrukah training and patrol vessel displaced 930 tons and was 62 metres long, making it far larger than any vessel previously operated by the Cyprus Navy. The vessel was refitted and modernised for the donation process and came equipped with

21593-570: Was experiencing severe technical difficulties with its T-34 tanks. The problem for the National Guard was further compounded by the refusal of Makarios' loyalist paramilitary force to hand over some 4500 Czech automatic rifles and a variety of other weapons which had been kept at a warehouse near Nicosia Airport , and which were handed over to the UN in January 1972. On 15 July 1974, the Cypriot National Guard, under its own leadership and in conjunction with

21744-475: Was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests starting in the late 1950s and continuing throughout the 1960s. Although after the Zürich and London conferences Turkey seemed to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in

21895-536: Was never a military objective or necessity. The Greek Cypriots did however endure the oppressive rule of first the Lusignans and then the Venetians from the 1190s through to 1570. King Amaury , who succeeded his brother Guy de Lusignan in 1194, was particularly intolerant of the Orthodox Church. Greek Cypriot land was appropriated for the Latin churches after they were established in the major towns on

22046-611: Was part of the Mycenaean civilization with local production of Mycenaean vases dating to the Late Helladic III (1400–1050 BC). The quantity of this pottery concludes that there were numerous Mycenaean settlers, if not settlements, on the island. Archaeological evidence shows that Greek settlement began unsystematically in c. 1400 BC, then steadied (possibly due to Dorian invaders on the mainland) with definite settlements established in c. 1200 BC. The close connection between

22197-413: Was quickly dispatched to Paphos to begin shelling a radio station there which was being operated by pro-Makarios elements. On 20 July 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus in a surprise-attack, without issuing a declaration of war. A naval force of Turkish vessels was detected by coastal radar at Apostolos Andreas approaching the coast, and a second force of naval vessels was sighted off the coast of Kyrenia during

22348-710: Was ruled by "kings" who corresponded with the leaders of other Mediterranean states (like the pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt , as documented in the Amarna letters ). The first recorded name of a Cypriot king is Kushmeshusha , as appears on letters sent to Ugarit in the 13th century BC. At the end of the Bronze Age, the island experienced two waves of Greek settlement. The first wave consisted of Mycenaean Greek traders, who started visiting Cyprus around 1400 BC. A major wave of Greek settlement

22499-414: Was struck in the engines by strafing rockets and exploded into flames, killing seven of her crew. One of the four survivors then piloted the ship with a single functioning engine to run aground next to the harbour, so that the crew could be recovered by local fishermen. The Phaethon was then gutted by flames, rendering it a wreck. Minutes after the attack on the Phaethon, a second formation of F-100s spotted

22650-423: Was under Tyrian rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC. Some Phoenician merchants who were believed to come from Tyre colonised the area and expanded the political influence of Kition. After c. 850 BC, the sanctuaries [at the Kathari site] were rebuilt and reused by the Phoenicians. Cyprus is at a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire for

22801-419: Was widely reported to be part of a phased refurbishment of the Artillery Command, transitioning to a greater number of self-propelled guns and launcher systems, integrated and better networked for a more sophisticated warfighting capability. In early 2020, Cyprus signed contracts worth more than 240 million Euros to purchase French Mistral MANPADS, Exocet ASMs and a short-medium range SAM system. In 2023,

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