CMP begins excavation for missing TCs in Aloa

Excavation works have started in the Aloa village, where dozens of Turkish Cypriots were killed ahead of the second leg of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus 1974, the Turkish Cypriot member of the committee of missing persons (CMP) Hakki Muftuzade said on Wednesday.

He added that the goal is to dig up a mass grave, where they have reports 37 bodies of Turkish Cypriots were moved to from another mass grave.

Muftuzade said that the process could take around six months, and that the remains will be examined with DNA testing.

The Turkish Cypriot side has been calling for the excavations in Aloa to start for a few months, as there were reports that many people were buried there.

To date there are still 728 Greek Cypriots and 200 Turkish Cypriots still missing from inter-communal clashes in the 60s and the invasion in 1974.

A total of 742 Greek Cypriots have been identified, while 292 Turkish Cypriots have been identified, according to the statistics of the CMP.