Greece repatriates remains of six soldiers from Cyprus

Greece is repatriating the identified remains of six soldiers who were killed in action in Cyprus during Turkey’s 1974 invasion that split the island nation along ethnic lines.

The soldiers’ relatives were honored during a church service and ceremony in Cyprus on Thursday prior to the coffins being flown aboard a Greek air force transport aircraft.

Greece’s deputy minister of national defense, Alkiviadis Stefanis, attended the ceremony.

This is the fifth such repatriation in the last three years following the location and identification of the remains of Greek soldiers who had previously been listed as missing.

The remains of four of the soldiers were unearthed from graves at a military cemetery in the capital, Nicosia, that were hastily dug in the immediate aftermath of fighting.

[AP]