Turkish Armed Forces in Northern Cyprus

KTBK logo

The Turkish Armed Forces in Northern Cyprus^[1] officially the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force (Turkish: Kıbrıs Türk Barış Kuvvetleri or KTBK). In their first foreign combat operations since the Korean War, Turkish troops engaged in the invasion of Cyprus. Against determined resistance by the lightly armed Greek Cypriot National Guard, the Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the island. The invasion force, which consisted of about 40,000 soldiers and 200 tanks, subsequently was reduced to a garrison of 30,000 troops. It greatly outnumbers the contingent of Greek national forces on the island, which is supplemented by the Greek Cypriot National Guard. Air reinforcement of the Turkish troops can be effected, if necessary, within hours.^[2] Nevertheless, the unresolved dispute over Cyprus complicates Turkish participation in NATO and remains an obstacle to NATO's effectiveness in the region. ^[3]

History

Cyprus Turkish Brigade

Turkey sent the Cyprus Turkish Brigade (Kıbrıs Türk Alayı) to Cyprus in accordance with terms of the Zürich and London Agreement. On 16 August 1960, the brigade was organized as follows^{[citation needed]}:

• Gunyeli Group (Günyeli Grubu)
  • 2nd Infantry Company (2 nci Piyade Bölüğü)
  • 3rd Infantry Company (3 ncü Piyade Bölüğü)
  • Heavy Weapons Company (Ağır Silah Bölüğü)
• Ortakoy 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, Turkey landed forces on the northern part of Cyprus after the military coup of July 15, 1974. Turkish forces involved in operations were as follows^{[citation needed]}:

• An airborne (parachute) brigade (Commander: Brig.Gen. Sabri Evren)
• A commando brigade (Commander: Brig.Gen. Sabri Demirbağ')
• A Special Strike Force Landing Brigade (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 units^{[citation needed]}:

• 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 tanks.^[4]
  • A Special Force Regiment
  • An Artillery Regiment
  • Naval units

The corps reserve was at Kythrea (Değirmenlik) to the northeast of Nicosia.

Turkish Land Forces Türk Kara Kuvvetleri

Components Turkish Army Structure List of formations 2008 Administration İlker Başbuğ Overseas Deployments Forces in Cyprus Equipment Modern equipment History History Timeline Personnel Officer rank insignia Other ranks insignia

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.^[5] However, according to the UN Secretary-General “It is estimated that in recent years there have been in the northern part of the island a little under 30,000 armed forces of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish Forces) making it one of the most militarized areas in the world in terms of numbers of troops and numbers of civilian 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 Izmir in Turkey. However, the commander of the Turkish troops reports directly to the Turkish General Staff in the capital, Ankara. The force is responsible for all security and is not directly involved in political matters of northern Cyprus.^[6]

Since 16 August 1974, the Turkish Army has retained control of the northern 37% of Cyprus.

Military Personnel in Northern Cyprus

Map of Cyprus showing current political divisions

It is not possible to give an exactly accurate number of military personnel serving in northern Cyprus, due to conflicting public sources of information.

There are an estimated 30,000 regular troops of the Turkish Army serving in northern Cyprus at any given time are:

Equipment in Northern Cyprus

This is an estimate of the inventory of military equipment in northern Cyprus due to conflicting published sources.

Main Battle Tanks

• M48A5T1 or T2 ~ 287 (Imported after 1974, modernised M48 replaced the older M48's. The M47's what was used during the war were withdrawn from service.
• M48A5C - 9 Used in training.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

• AIFV / AAPC ~ 126 (Imported after 1995, among them are armed with the 25mm Sharpshooter configuration)

Armoured Personnel Carriers

• M113A1 - 361
• AIFV - 90 AAPC variants with 12,7mm or 7,62mm weapons.

Self Propelled Howitzers

• M-110A2 - 12 203mm howitzers
• M44T - 24 (Modernized with 155mm/L39 Rheinmetall howitzers and ASELSAN electronic systems.)
• M52T - 36 (Modernized with 155mm/L39 Rheinmetall howitzers and ASELSAN electronic systems.)

Multiple Rocket Launchers

• T-122 - eight 122mm MLRS(One battery covering the whole island with 40 km TRB series extended range rockets.)

Towed Howitzers

• M-115 203 mm - 12
• M-59 155 mm - 12
• M-114A2 155 mm - 36
• M-101A1 105 mm - 36

Anti-Tank Missiles

• Kornet-E ~ 60
• TOW ~ 36 (Imported in 1994)
• MILAN ~ 48
• M72 LAW Unknown number, produced in Turkey
• RPG-7 Unknown number

Recoilless Rifles

• M40A1 ~ 170

Mortars

• various calibers ~ 205
• radar-assisted ~ 78

See also

• Military of Northern Cyprus

Notes

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+tr0103%29
3. ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+tr0103%29
4. ^ Turkey: A Country Study, p.350. Kessinger Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1419191268
5. ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+cy0158%29
6. ^ Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 98-11-19

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