Turkey categorically denies, in the negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, any talk of the withdrawal of its troops from the occupied part of Megalonisos.
But what are the possibilities of this powerful, if nothing else, military force that has remained "unknown" to many people for the last 43 years?
The Turkish Cypriot army
First of all, it calls itself "Güvenlik Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı" and it refers to the military and security forces of the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, which is internationally recognized only by Turkey.
These are 9.000 men serving a term of up to 15 months and come from the Turkish Cypriot population called for this purpose between the ages of 18 and 40.
These 9.000 men serve in units of the Occupied Army, Air Force and Navy
This force is permanently reinforced by about 17.000 soldiers from Turkey.
The secrecy is huge and very rarely do they come out about their structure.
The Turkish Cypriot forces, according to UN reports from 1984 and 2009 and posted on their website, are organized into 15 battalions of two infantry brigades and are equipped with light weapons, some light artillery and mortars.
Its "navy" is essentially the coast guard units with 18 light patrol boats.
The Turkish occupation troops
As for the Turkish soldiers stationed in the occupied part of Cyprus, it is worth mentioning that according to the available information and publications by the Turkish authorities themselves, the initial (during and shortly after the invasion) number of 40.000 has been reduced to 17.500 from According to the UN, however, "It is estimated that in recent years there are less than 1990 Turkish soldiers in the northern part of the island, making the region one of the most militarized in the world, in terms of the number of soldiers to the number of civilians." . "More recently, there have been indications that the total number of Turkish forces on the island has increased."
The Turkish forces in Cyprus are units of the Turkish Aegean Army, whose headquarters are in Smyrna.
However, their commander reports them directly to the General Staff in Ankara.
The structure of 2015
According to the latest rearrangements of forces on the island that took place in 2015, the Turkish forces in Cyprus are distributed in
28th Motorized Infantry Division (Kyrenia headquarters) - Maybe its real force is Brigade level
39th Motorized Infantry Division (Morphou headquarters) - Maybe its real force is Brigade level
14th Armored Brigade (Nicosia headquarters)
49th Special Forces Regiment
41th Special Forces Regiment
109th Plain Artillery Regiment
190th Marine Battalion
Communications Battalion
Central Command of Barracks (Battalion force)
Accounting Support Team (Kyrenia headquarters)
OCCUPATIONAL ARMY CYPRUS
OCCUPATIONAL ARMY CYPRUS
The weapon systems
In these units there are 296 M-48 tanks, 552 type armored vehicles, FNSS Pars, FNSS ACV-15 and Nurol Ejder, 72 self-propelled guns M-110A2, M44T, M52T.
The artillery also includes 16 multiple T-122 Sakarya rocket launchers and 96 M115, M59, M114A2 and M101A1 trailer guns.
There are also over 400 anti-tank guns of various types, almost 600 mortars and 513 anti-aircraft guns.
Finally, 30 AS532 Cougar troop and cargo helicopters have been deployed to this force
We should also remember that a large force of planes and heavy units of the Turkish Navy is always on standby in mainland Turkey.
The 12.000 Cypriots of the National Guard and the ELDYK are called to face these forces.
Source: Newsbeast.gr