The 22nd Major Search and Rescue Exercise in Memory of Lieutenant Caner Gönyeli Begins in Northern Cyprus

The annual joint search and rescue exercise “Lieutenant Caner Gönyeli — 2026” has begun in the TRNC, carried out by the civilian and military authorities of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Türkiye. This year’s maneuvers are being held in an open format, with the participation of foreign observers and the press. On the eve of the practical phase, an official press briefing was held at the Headquarters of the Security Forces Command in Boğazköy, attended by the leadership of the Armed Forces as well as the daughter of the fallen officer, Nil Gönyeli, who was presented with commemorative plaques.

Objectives, sovereignty and statistics:
According to Security Forces Commander Major General İlker Görgülü, these exercises have been held since 2002 (this year for the 22nd time) to demonstrate the capabilities and standing of Türkiye and the TRNC in the international waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. Görgülü emphasized that the sovereign land territories and territorial waters declared by the TRNC are fully within its area of responsibility for rescue operations. Since the launch of the Ercan Regional Search and Rescue Center in 2002, TRNC units have successfully carried out 122 real rescue operations (43 south of Gazimağusa-Karpaz, 65 north of Karpaz, 9 in the Erenköy area and 5 in international waters).

Program and scenarios of Exercise-2026:
The maneuvers include two phases (land and sea), divided into three scenarios:

1. Land phase (taking place today in Girne, 101 Evler area / Beşparmak Mountains): practice of emergency search and rescue of passengers after a sudden loss of contact with a civilian aircraft operating a scheduled flight on the Türkiye — TRNC route.
2. Sea phase — Scenario A (to take place tomorrow southeast of Dipkarpaz): rescue of people and firefighting in international waters (within the Turkish area of responsibility) after a cargo ship collided with illegal migrants and a commercial yacht.
3. Sea phase — Scenario B (to take place tomorrow off the coast of Gazimağusa): a rescue operation in the territorial waters of the TRNC after a collision between a fuel tanker traveling on the İzmir — Kalecik route and a merchant vessel sailing from Gazimağusa to Mersin.

Scale of the forces involved:
Interagency coordination has been deployed in the exercise. In total, the following have been involved:
— 14 search and rescue coordination centers (10 from Türkiye, 4 from the TRNC);
— 14 aviation units (aircraft and helicopters of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Interior, as well as the TRNC Security Forces);
— 13 vessels (coast guard ships of the TRNC and Türkiye, vessels of the Turkish-Cypriot coastal security company);
— 9 land rescue teams and civilian ministries (health, transport, civil defense of both countries).

Major General Görgülü summed up by saying that the exercises are intended to prove the absolute round-the-clock readiness of allied forces for any humanitarian and rescue challenges in the region.