Recent earthquakes cracked open the ground near Famagusta harbour, exposing human remains that may belong to missing persons from the 1974 Turkish invasion.
The bones were discovered by chance late yesterday during construction work in the occupied areas. Earthquake damage created fissures in the ground that revealed the remains, according to Leonidas Pantelides, the Greek Cypriot representative on the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP).
Police in the occupied areas responded first, followed by a CMP team that arrived today to examine the site. Investigators are now trying to determine whether the bones belong to missing persons from the invasion or date from earlier periods.
The discovery happened near the roundabout at Famagusta harbour – the same area where previous searches came up empty. That history suggests the remains could belong to Greek Cypriot missing persons, though Pantelides stressed nothing is certain until investigators complete their work on site.
Famagusta holds particular significance for missing persons cases. The town served as an escape route for soldiers and civilians fleeing from Kyrenia and the Pentadaktylos villages during the invasion, Pantelides said.
Meanwhile, CMP teams are digging along the Pedieos River in Strovolos, examining three wells for possible remains of Turkish Cypriot missing persons from the 1963-64 intercommunal violence.
The area has yielded discoveries before. Seven Turkish Cypriot missing persons were found near the Cine Plex cinema, based on information from residents who heard strange sounds at night. Those remains are believed to relate to the December 1963 events in Omorphita, where Turkish Cypriots were killed and expelled from the predominantly Turkish Cypriot suburb during the “Bloody Christmas” crisis that erupted across Cyprus.
The intercommunal violence of 1963-64 left 191 Turkish Cypriots killed and 173 missing, whilst 133 Greek Cypriots were killed and 41 went missing, according to Republic of Cyprus figures.