Turkey has granted the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) excavation teams access to 30 suspected burial sites in military areas in the Turkish occupied areas of the island, according to a CMP press release.

The CMP members have welcomed the decision, noting that it will accelerate the Committee’s humanitarian work.

“Τoday, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) was formally notified that Turkey had granted access for CMP excavation teams to 30 suspected burial sites in military areas in the north of Cyprus,” the press release said.

It added that no time constraint is attached to this decision and the excavation planning will be decided by CMP.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. 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 the remains of missing persons to their relatives.