Work has started to open the mass grave in Atlılar so that the bodies and remains of 37 Turkish Cypriots who were massacred in 1974 can be found, seperated and buried in according to İslamic customs.

Work on opening the mass grave and the identification process may take up to 6 months.

The Turkish Cypriot member of the Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) Hakkı Müftüzade made a statement to the Anadolu Agency regarding the work to be carried out on the mass grave in Atlılar.

The remains of 37 Turkish Cypriots massacred by the Greek Cypriots in 1974 were buried in Atlilar village and upon the request of the families of the victims, work to open the grave was initiated with the decision of the committee.

The families want seperate graves for their family members and expressed the hope that the excavation process at the mass grave will be completed as soon as possible.

Noting that a technical team is carrying out careful and sensitive work in Atlılar, Muftiuzade said, “We are trying to find the bodies and remains of 37 people who were brought from another mass grave and buried in the mass grave in Atlılar.”

“At the end of the studies, we aim to identify 37 people and differentiate them from those buried in Atlılar previously” he said.

Explaining that the process of opening and identifying the mass grave may take up to 6 months, Müftüzade said that the bodies and remains will then be sent to the USA for DNA testing.

Stating that after the completion of the work, each of the victims of the massacre will be transferred to a separate grave in line with the wishes of the families, Müftüzade stated that it is difficult to predict the duration of this process as meticulous work needs to be carried out.