Cyprus marks 51 years since Turkish invasion that led to island nation's partition
Cyprus marks 51 years since 40,000 Turkish soldiers descended on the island on 20 July, 1974, seizing more than 35% of its territory in a two-phase monthlong offensive.
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00:00On the morning of 20 July 1974, sirens sounded across the island nation of Cyprus, warning that an invasion was underway.
00:09Over 40,000 Turkish troops descended in Kairinia north of Cyprus while Ankara's air forces carried out an aerial assault campaign.
00:17The Turkish invasion came just five days after Greek-Cypriot nationalists, supported by the Greek junta,
00:22staged a coup to overthrow the country's democratically elected president, Archbishop Makarios III.
00:28The nationalists, fighting under the Cypriot National Guard seal, aimed to overthrow Makarios and unite the Mediterranean island with Greece in a movement known as Enosis.
00:37Makarios managed to flee Cyprus through Paphos and arrived in New York where he delivered a speech on July 19th, condemning the coup and denouncing the unification intent.
00:47By then, Ankara's military preparations had already been put in place and the invasion was carried out the following morning.
00:54But Turkey insists that it had to intervene to protect the Turkish-Cypriot minority.
00:59Fighting took place for a month where Turkish forces are estimated to have killed some 3,000 Cypriots, mainly civilians.
01:06The military standoff was heavily mismatched as Cypriot troops fought without air cover or modern weaponry.
01:11In mid-August, Turkey launched the second phase of its invasion, codenamed Attila II, which saw its forces advance and occupy large stretches of land.
01:21By the end of their second offensive, Ankara had controlled over 35% of the island, which to this day it still illegally occupies.
01:28As many as 200,000 Greek Cypriots were displaced from their homes and were forced to flee south in the month-long offensive.
