The Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command ( tr, Kıbrıs Türk Barış Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı) is the Turkish garrison in Cyprus. In 1974 Turkish troops invaded Cyprus following a Greek Cypriot coup d'état (organized and supported by the Greek government, which was still in the hands of a

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

) which wanted to force union with Greece, occupying the northern third of the island. The invasion force, which consisted of about 40,000 soldiers and 200 tanks. It outnumbers the Greek military contingent on the island, which is supplemented by the Greek Cypriot National Guard consisting of 12,000 active and 75,000 reserves. Air reinforcement of the Turkish troops can be effected, if necessary, within hours.

History

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

maintained the Cyprus Turkish Regiment (''Kıbrıs Türk Alayı'') in the northern part of the Republic of Cyprus. On 16 August 1960, the brigade was organized as follows: *Günyeli Group (''Günyeli Grubu'') **2nd Infantry Company (''2 nci Piyade Bölüğü'') **3rd Infantry Company (''3 ncü Piyade Bölüğü'') **Heavy Weapons Company (''Ağır Silah Bölüğü'') *Ortaköy Group (''Ortaköy Grubu'') **1st Infantry Company (''1 nci Piyade Bölüğü'') **4th Infantry Company (''4 ncü Piyade Bölüğü'') **Regimental HQ Company (''Alay Karargâh Servis Bölüğü'')

Invasion of Cyprus

In July 1974,

landed forces on the northern part of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

after the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of July 15, 1974. Turkish forces involved in

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

were as follows: *An airborne (parachute) brigade (Commander: Brig. Gen. Sabri Evren) *A commando brigade (Commander: Brig. Gen. Sabri Demirbağ') *A Special Strike Force Landing Brigade (

Turkish Marines The Amphibious Marine Brigade ( tr, Amfibi Deniz Piyade Tugayı), also known as Amphibious Commando ( tr, Amfibi Komando), is the marine corps unit of the Turkish Naval Forces based in Foça near İzmir, three amphibious battalions, an MBT battal ...

) (Commander: Brig. Gen. Süleyman Tuncer) *The 39th Infantry Division (Commander: Maj. Gen. Bedrettin Demirel) *The 28th Infantry Division (Commander: Maj.Gen. Osman Fazıl Polat)

Post invasion

It has been on Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974, and initially consisted of the following

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

units: * Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command ** 28th Infantry Division - headquartered at Asha (Paşaköy) to the northeast of Nicosia, and the ** 39th Infantry Division - headquartered at Camlibel within the district of Girne. ** 14th Armoured Brigade - also in Asha (Paşaköy) with

M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...

M60 Patton The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second generation, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from ...

tanks. ** A Special Force Regiment ** An Artillery Regiment ** Naval units The corps reserve was at

Kythrea Kythrea ( el, Κυθρέα or ; tr, Değirmenlik) is a small town in Cyprus, 10 km northeast of Nicosia. Kythrea is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. History Kythrea is situated near the ancient Greek city-kingdom of ...

(Değirmenlik) to the northeast of Nicosia.

Current (Post-2015)

* 28th Mechanized Infantry Division (Paşaköy, Kyrenia) * 39th Mechanized Infantry Division (Çamlıbel, Morphou) * 14th Armoured Brigade (Degirmenlik, Nicosia) * 49th Special Force Regiment * 41st Commando Regiment * 109th Field Artillery Regiment * 190th

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (ref ...

Battalion * Communications Battalion * Central Command Military Police Battalion * Logistics Support Group (Kyrenia) *

TRNC Coast Guard Command The TRNC Coast Guard Command (''Turkish: KKTC Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı'') is responsible for defending the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (T ...

( 238 Staff 36 Coast Guard Boats )

Strength

The original force of 40,000 troops was reduced with Turkish authorities claiming that the Turkish force in Cyprus had been reduced to 17,500 in the 1990s. However, according to the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

''“It is estimated that in recent years there have been in the northern part of the

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

a little under 30,000 armed forces of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula i ...

(Turkish Forces) making it one of the most militarized areas in the world in terms of numbers of

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

and numbers of

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatan ...

population. Recently moreover there have been indications that the total numbers of Turkish forces on the island may have increased”'
S994/680 7.6.1994.par.28
Turkish forces in Cyprus are part of the Turkish

Aegean Army The Aegean Army or Fourth Army is one of the four main formations of the Turkish Army. It covers the entire west coast of the Anatolia peninsula and has its headquarters in İzmir. It was organised in the 1970s in response to political tensions ...

which is headquartered at Izmir in Turkey. However, the commander of the Turkish troops reports directly to the

Turkish General Staff , image = , image_size = 160px , caption = Emblem of the General Staff , dates = 3 May 1920 – present , country = , allegiance ...

in the capital, Ankara. The force is responsible for all security and is not directly involved in political matters of northern Cyprus. Since 16 August 1974, the Turkish Army has retained control of the northern 36.2% of Cyprus.

Equipment in Northern Cyprus

Main Battle Tanks

M48A5T1 The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman, M46 and M47 Patton tanks, and w ...

and

M48A5T2 The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman, M46 and M47 Patton tanks, and wa ...

- 287 * M48A5C - 9 *

M60A1 The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...

M60A3 The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second generation, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from ...

Leopard 2A4 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Ger ...

limited numbers

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

FNSS Pars The Pars (Turkish for Anatolian leopard) is an amphibious armoured combat vehicle family with 4x4, 6×6 and 8×8 versions, produced by FNSS Defence Systems of Turkey. Development The development of the PARS vehicles commenced in 2002, based ...

- 300 *

FNSS ACV-15 ACV-15 is the designation of an amphibious Infantry fighting vehicle family developed by the Turkish defense company FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. This vehicle is also manufactured by DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DefTech). The design is an att ...

- 126 *

Nurol Ejder The Nurol Ejder (; lit. "Dragon") is a family of armoured vehicles produced by Turkish company Nurol Makina. Two versions exists under the Ejder name, a 6x6 version, and a more popular 4x4 version, called Ejder Yalcin. Variants Ejder 6×6 Armo ...

- 126 *

ACV-300 ACV-15 is the designation of an amphibious Infantry fighting vehicle family developed by the Turkish defense company FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. This vehicle is also manufactured by DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DefTech). The design is an att ...

Armoured Personnel Carriers

* M113A1 - 361 *

AIFV The AIFV (''Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle'') is a US tracked light armored vehicle that serves as an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in the armies of several countries. It is a development of the M113A1 armored personnel carrier. Histor ...

- 90 *

- 190 *

Otokar Akrep Akrep ("Scorpion") is a Turkish infantry mobility vehicle developed by Otokar Otobus Karoseri Sanayi AS. The first prototypes were completed in May 1993 and the first vehicles came off the production line in June 1994. In addition to light rec ...

- 67 *

Otokar Cobra The Cobra is a family of armored vehicles produced by Otokar of Turkey. It is produced in two generations. The Cobra ( tr, Kobra) is an armoured tactical vehicle developed by Turkish firm Otokar. Durability The monocoque steel v-hull provide ...

- 32

Utility Vehicles

CJ3B The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 to 1986. The 1945 Willys Jeep was the world' ...

* Engerek - 150+

Self Propelled Howitzers

* M-110A2 - 12 * M44T - 24 * M52T - 36 *

T-155 Fırtına T-155 Fırtına (Turkish for ''Storm'') is a Turkish variant of K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled howitzer co-developed with South Korea utilizing Turkish technology and design into existing K9 Thunder. It is manufactured and assembled by Turkis ...

Multiple Rocket Launchers

T-122 Sakarya The T-122 Sakarya is a Turkish multiple launch rocket system developed by ROKETSAN. Overview As part of the modernization drive undertaken by the Turkish Military in the 1980s and 90s several new rocket systems were developed for the needs ...

- 16 * T-107 - 70 *

MGM-140 ATACMS The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to , with solid propellant, and is high and in diameter. The ATACMS can be fired ...

- 12

Towed Howitzers

* M115 - 12 * M59 - 12 * M114A2 - 36 *

M101A1 The M101A1 (previously designated M2A1) howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters and during th ...

- 36 * Panter howitzer - 36 *Boran

Anti-Tank Missiles

Kornet-E The 9M133 Kornet (russian: Корнет; "Cornet", NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan, export designation Kornet-E) is a Russian man-portable anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) intended for use against main battle tanks. It was first introduced ...

- 60 * TOW - 48 *

MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

- 300 *

M72 LAW The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in t ...

500+ *

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. T ...

Recoilless Rifles

M40 recoilless rifle The M40 recoilless rifle is a portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer fle ...

- 170 *

M825 M8 or M-8 or M.08 or ''variant, may refer to: Computing and electronics * M8 (cipher), an encryption algorithm * Leica M8, a digital rangefinder camera * HTC One (M8), a smartphone * Meizu M8, a smartphone Places * Messier 8, also known as M8 ...

M40 carrier

Mortars

* M30 - 142 * HY-12 - 171 *

MKEK The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation ( tr, Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi or MKE for short), established in 1950, is a reorganization of government-controlled group of factories in Turkey that supplied the Turkish Armed Forces with mil ...

81 mm - 279

Anti-Aircraft

Oerlikon GAI The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emp ...

- 48 *

Oerlikon GDF The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA/ ...

- 65 *

Rheinmetall Air Defence Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products. Oerlikon Contr ...

Helicopters

* AS532 Cougar - 30

Notes

References

* Cyprus Mail, Thursday, November 19, 1998 * Phileleftheros, Wednesday, November 18, 1998 * Cyprus News Agency, October 8, 1998 * Cyprus News Agency, November 21, 1997 * Cyprus News Agency, October 27, 1997 * The Military Balance 1996/97, The International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. * 2004 - 2005 Defence Bible (Stratigiki) * "Cyprus, 1974", by T. Cooper and N. Tselepidis, published October 28, 2003 for ACIG.org.

External links

2007 letter from Cypriot Government to UN, giving details of Turkish forces in Cyprus

The Cyprus Conflict
A website with a selection of details, reports, documents, and personal accounts on the Cyprus dispute
Chronology - Cyprus Issue

Aspects of the Cyprus Problem from The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office

Association Of Turkish Cypriots Abroad
A non-party-political organization with the aim of partitioning Cyprus {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkish Military Presence On Cyprus 1974 establishments in Cyprus 1974 establishments in Turkey Army units and formations of Turkey Military of Cyprus Military units and formations established in 1974 Northern Cyprus–Turkey relations Overseas or abroad military installations