The Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command () is the Turkish

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

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 system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

) which wanted to force union with Greece, occupying the northern third of the island. The invasion force 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, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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: *Gönyeli Group (''Gönyeli 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 (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

after the military coup of July 15, 1974. Turkish forces involved in operations 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) (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 () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since 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 first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun M48, armored, full-tracked, combat vehicle of the medium-gun tank class. It was designed as a replacement for ...

M60 Patton The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second, 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 Pa ...

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

Kythrea Kythrea ( or ; ) 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 Chytroi, which was founded by Chy ...

(Değirmenlik) to the northeast of Nicosia.

Current (Post-2015)

* 28th Mechanized Infantry Division (Paşaköy, Kyrenia) ** 230th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Turkey) ** other regiments and smaller units * 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 military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

Battalion * Communications Battalion * Central Command Military Police Battalion * Logistics Support Group (Kyrenia) * TRNC Coast Guard Command (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 UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

''“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 land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

a little under 30,000 armed forces of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(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 (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

and numbers of

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

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 which is headquartered at

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in Turkey. However, the commander of the Turkish troops reports directly to the

Turkish General Staff The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Genelkurmay Başkanlığı'', ''abbreviation: TSK Gnkur. Bşk.lığı'') is the highest staff organization in the Turkish Armed Forces. Chief ...

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 tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...
s

Armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...
s

Armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
s

Mine-resistant ambush protected

Multi-purpose vehicles

Self-propelled howitzers Self-propelled may refer to * Human-powered transport, humans moving themselves (and their cargo) via their own muscle energy * Machines that power their own movement: Automobile (from ''auto-'' + ''mobile'', "self-moving") Locomotive (from ...

Multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...
s

Towed howitzers

Anti-tank missiles/
tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...
s

Recoilless rifle A Recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some fo ...
s

Mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

Anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

Aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
/ Helicopters/ UAV

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