On 20th July 1974 Turkey launched it's invasion of Cyprus in response to a Greek backed coup in Cyprus. The action was nicknamed Operation Atilla which also became an alternative name for the Green Line which separates the two zones.
The coup, staged by the Cypriot National Guard and EOKA B, deposed the Cypriot president Archbishop Makarios III and installed Nikos Sampson in his place.
The conflict resulted in a massive shift of population on the island with around 60,000 Turkish Cypriots moving north and about a quarter of the population in Northern Cyprus moving south to the Greek Cypriot part.
The invasion led to a permanent line of separation which still exists today between northern Cyprus and the southern Greek Cypriot part. This line became known as the Green Line or Atilla Line and includes an area of buffer zone which is policed by United Nations troops. In 1983 the Turkish Republic of northern Cyprus declared independence although Turkey are the only country which recognise it.
Principal Towns in Northern Turkish Cyprus
Famagusta, Keryneia, Nicosia (Lefkosia) part in Northern and part in Southern.
Principal Towns in Southern Turkish Cyprus
Larnaka, Nicosia (mostly), Limassol, Paphos.
| CYPRUS FACTS |
| 1571 - the island was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. |
| 1878 - the island was leased to Britain following Congress of Berlin. |
| 1914 - Britain annexed the island when the Ottoman Empire joined World War One on the side of the Axis. The island then became a crown dependency of Britain. |
| 1923 - Treaty of Lausanne marked the end of the Turkish claim to the island. |
| In the early 1950's the Greek nationalist group EOKA was formed, with the objective of first forcing the British off the island and secondly to integrate the island with Greece. |
| 1960 - Constitution of the Cyprus Republic. Proved unworkable and lasted only 3 years. |
| 1963 Decemeber - major conflict centered in the Omorphita suburb of Nicosia where Greek Cypriots superior in number and force pin Turkish Cypriots down in the ghetto. Turkey uses events to refuse residence permits to 12,000 Greeks in Istanbul. |
| 1964 - Turkey seriously starts thinking about invasion but is warned by President Johnson that America would not help Turkey should the Russians join the conflict. |
| 1974 - fearing the plans of the EOKA movement and the military Junta which has seized power in Athens, the Turks finally launch their invasion to help support Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus. |
