760 people missing since 1974 invasion remain unidentified, commissioner says

Larnaca, Cyprus. A total of 760 people who went missing during the Turkish invasion of 1974 remain unidentified, Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis said on Wednesday, calling for greater efforts to establish the fate of those still unaccounted for.

Speaking at an event organised by the Cyprus studies centre in Larnaca, Hartsiotis said 859 of the 1,619 people registered as missing had been identified.

Identification efforts

“Determining the fate of the missing constitutes the highest humanitarian and national obligation,” Hartsiotis said, adding that the issue does not expire with the passage of time.

He said efforts would focus on improving infrastructure, carrying out genetic testing and keeping relatives informed.

Hartsiotis called for access to Turkish army archives, saying information held in Turkey could help identify burial sites and resolve cases that have remained open for more than five decades.

Laboratory and genetic testing

The cabinet has approved a building for a permanent state anthropological laboratory, while work is under way on an ossuary for the bones of identified and unidentified missing persons and fallen soldiers, he said.

A €1 million allocation approved in April is being used for specialised genetic tests on the remains of Greek Cypriot and Greek fallen and missing persons from 1974 that had previously been treated with chemicals, making conventional identification difficult.

Testing began in June through the genetics institute, with a fifth batch of small skeletal samples from the Lakatamia military cemetery also sent to the institute for examination.

Communication with relatives

Hartsiotis said the government was working to improve communication with relatives through regular meetings and access to missing persons files.

He also announced plans for an annual public presentation of work carried out on the issue, with the first covering activities during 2026 by his office, the committee on missing persons (CMP) and the genetics institute.