Seven teams searching for remains of the missing

Seven crews are scouring the island for the remains of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot missing persons, the committee on missing persons confirmed on Friday.

One of the crews is actively working in occupied Nicosia, focusing on the broader prison area, where discoveries were made in the past, the Cyprus News Agency reported citing the office of the Greek Cypriot representative to the CMP.

In 2015, two graves with the remains of 30 people were found in the area, which were later identified. There is information about a third grave and work is being carried out there. The information refers to the burial of soldiers from the Nicosia district.

The search also extends to other regions.

In occupied Karavas, a well is being excavated but without result and the crew is to be moved to another area, in occupied Lapithos. An excavation effort in Kythraea yielded no findings either, officials said.

But in Aloa, where efforts are continuing with another crew, exhumation previously identified bones corresponding to 31 people.

Further efforts in northern Trachona are also continuing and so far, bones corresponding to one person have been identified.

Work is also continuing in mountainous Lapithos since December 2023 after a bone fragment was identified.

Meanwhile, in the government-controlled areas, a crew is working in Kalavasos on two wells, where there is information about missing TCs.

Last year up until October, the remains of 14 people were recovered according to the CMP.