The Green Line in Cyprus

The UN at work....mid 1974-1975

 All images are courtesy of the UN's Blue Beret magazine. The low image quality of these early pictures is due to the printing process of the 1970s.
The place names are as reported and may differ slightly from the official name.

Following the coup and invasion in July 1974, The Blue Beret Magazine wasn't published again until September 1974.

The first edition to appear following the coup and invasion was in September 1974 and the front page carried this message.

The first edition also printed the list of UN soldiers who were killed.

Details of the loss of three Austrian UN soldiers killed by a Turkish airstrike.....underlying the dangerous nature of the UN's mission.
The attack occurred during the second Turkish push to the east and west.

A poor quality picture but one that explains the new reality facing the UN.......that of monitoring the cease-fire demarcation lines.
This image shows Greek, Turkish and UN officers at a Turkish position south of Buffavento Castle.

Monitoring the cease-fire line but at a Greek position.........Turkish, Greek and UN officers.

An official photograph that came with the warning that it was absolutely forbidden to take private photographs at any military position.
This warning came at a time of great sensitivity regarding the nature and location of Greek/Turkish positions.

Canadian APCs in the grounds of the Nicosia Club with a Turkish soldier in the foreground.

A view of the UNFICYP OP Roslyn.

Greek Cypriot refugees being helped out of UN vehicles outside the Greek Embassy.

A self explanatory article regarding the evacuation of Turkish Cypriots.

Another incident which demonstrates the dangers of unmarked minefields.

A UN soldier observing in Polemedhia, Limassol. It is unclear what he might be observing as all the Turkish Cypriots had left their section of this mixed village.
(Author's note.....this was the village where I lived before being evacuated into the WSBA)

An OP occupied by 41 Commando located somewhere in the Troodos mountains.

A self-explantory article about Greek Cypriot refugees.

41 Commando UN soldiers chat with youngsters at Milandra (Melandra). All Turkish Cypriot villagers were later evacuated under UN escort in September 1975.

Major General Prem Chand is welcomed by villagers at Armenokhori (a Turkish Cypriot village north of Limassol).

A 41 Commando UN patrol passing through the Turkish village of Evdhimou using local transport.
The village would have been empty at the time as the residents fled into the SBA following the invasion.

The caption places this meeting in Athna rather than Achna. A lot of UN time and effort was spent encouraging such meetings.

The Danish UN OP Skouriottisa......most probably located in the nearby Greek Cypriot village of Agios Nikoloas.
The villagers fled as the Turkish army advanced towards the area and the village is currently abandoned within the Buffer Zone.

A memorial is unveiled to the Australian UN policemen killed when he drove into an unmarked minefield.

The tragedy of a ceasefire violation.........killed whilst standing on his balcony.

OP Selemani Mountain is near Kato Pyrgos and is positioned on the edge of a high ridge......see the video Buffer Zone 3 for an impression of this incredible OP.

Turkish Cypriots are evacuated from Paphos.

A UN position in the Greek Cypriot town of Athienou (currently occupied by Greek Cypriots but within the Buffer Zone)

An ox drawn plough working in front of the UN OP in Milandra.

A UN food and supplies convoy leaving the Carl Gustaf camp in Famagusta. They used four different routes to supply 23 villages and almost 8,000 Greek Cypriot residents who are isolated in the Karpas area. Each week, 80 tons of food, 400 gas cylinders, 25,000litres of diesel and 25kg of medical supplies are delivered.

A Reserve Force Ferret climbs the hill out of Mammari and visits a Finnish UN OP.
Mammari is currently occupied by Greek Cypriots but is within the Buffer Zone.

The rather lighthearted captions avoids the fact that this is ethnic cleansing.....Gialia is a Turkish Cypriot village near to Polis.
This was one of the few Turkish villages that did not surrender to Greek Cypriot forces following the Turkish invasion. The village was emptied in three phases with a final UNFICYP evacuation arranged on the 19th August 1975.

Commemorations at the memorials to UN soldiers killed in two incidents during the Turkish invasion.
The first incident was the three Austrians killed in a Turkish airstrike (shown earlier).
The second incident was on the 16th August 1974 when two Danish soldiers accidently entered a minefield at Bağlıköy (Ampelikou) near Lefke.