Nicosia, Cyprus. Five more individuals are currently undergoing identification at the Committee on Missing Persons laboratory, with officials saying on Tuesday that 26 excavation missions have been completed since the start of the year.
Identification process
According to the Greek Cypriot component of the CMP, the remains of two individuals recovered in late 2025 in Lefkoniko, two others from Lapithos and one individual found in Karavas on the final day of last year have been transferred to the anthropological laboratory for DNA identification.
Excavation work
The CMP’s eight excavation teams are expected to resume operations in June following Kataklysmos. One team will begin work in a military area after approval procedures with the Turkish military are completed.
Excavations this year have led to bone findings corresponding to two individuals in Lapithos, where work will continue next month. Additional excavation activity is ongoing in Exometochi and Galateia, while new searches are scheduled to begin at the village of Choulou in Paphos.
Upcoming sites
Further excavations are due to start on June 3 in Assia and Kythrea, followed by operations on June 5 inside the buffer zone in Yerolakko.
The CMP has also proposed 10 excavation sites located within military zones in the north. So far, work has taken place at three such locations, including a military area in the Turkish-controlled part of Dherynia, Petra in the Famagusta district and in the village of Sychari near Bellapais.
Barring unforeseen developments, another excavation inside a military area is expected to begin after June 2 in Kyra, near Morphou, where the CMP’s eighth team will be deployed.
