Burial of 15 identified Turkish Cypriots at Atlılar cemetery postponed for a second time

The burial ceremony for 15 Turkish Cypriots whose identities were established by the Committee on Missing Persons has been postponed to a later date. It was due to take place at 10:00 on 7 September at Atlılar cemetery in the Famagusta district.

The ceremony was initially scheduled for 1 September. It had already been postponed to Monday because of the ferry disaster near Kyrenia, which claimed lives. The committee has not yet announced a new date.

Those identified include four members of the Süleyman family: Tülay (28), Hasan (10), Kemal (6) and Okan (3). Four members of the Ali Osman (Pipalı) family have also been identified: Mualla (36), Gülden (4), Özlem (2) and Seldem, who was 40 days old. The list also includes Ayşe Hasan (56), Kıymet Hasan (22), Narin Hasan (16), Fatma Tahir (46), Emine Tahir (22), Gürhan Ali Çerkez (12) and Betül Arnavut, who was 16 months old.

The remains were found during excavations at Atlılar cemetery, which the committee conducted from 24 July 2023 to 23 April 2024.

The Committee on Missing Persons is a bicommunal body operating under the auspices of the UN. It conducts excavations, identifies the remains of missing Cypriots and hands them over to their families for burial.