Update on the identification of missing persons in Cyprus

On July 7, 2026, Leonidas Pantelides, the Greek Cypriot representative to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), informed the Parliamentary Refugee Committee about the progress in identifying remains. He stated that 1,100 missing persons from the official bicommunal list and 250 fallen soldiers from the 1974 Turkish invasion have been identified. Recent excavations have uncovered the remains of six individuals: two in Kyra Morphou, two in Lapithos, and two in Lefkoniko. A total of 129 excavations were conducted last year, and currently, eight teams are operating, with seven based in the occupied areas. Marios Chartsiotis, the Presidential Commissioner, provided additional statistics noting that 859 out of 1,619 Greek Cypriot missing persons have been identified, leaving 760 cases pending. Of the total identified, 803 were processed by the CMP and 56 by the Republic of Cyprus. Furthermore, 40 out of 77 missing persons from Greece have been identified, as well as 18 out of 40 individuals missing from the 1963-1964 period.