Today marks the 61st Tylliria bombing anniversary, recalling the deadly August 1964 Turkish air raids that devastated the region. For three consecutive days, from 7 to 9 August, Turkish warplanes bombed the area, with napalm raining down on villages and military positions.
Napalm, a gel-like incendiary fuel, sticks to surfaces and burns at extremely high temperatures, often continuing to burn even after contact with water. In 1964 its use was not yet banned, but under current international law- specifically Protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons- using napalm on civilians would be prosecutable as a war crime.
Nikos Cleanthous, President of the Kato Pyrgos Tyllirias Community Council and head of the Tylliria community cluster, told the Cyprus News Agency that 8 August is a day of remembrance and honour for the heroic dead who defended Tylliria during the 1964 Turkish Cypriot uprising, and for all the residents who resisted and kept their land free.
“For us, it is a dark day that revives memories of the destruction, as it marked the beginning of the hardships that still plague the area today,” he said. The bombings killed dozens of local residents and National Guard soldiers, burned the region, and set in motion decades of decline and neglect.
Cleanthous stressed that Tylliria paid a heavy price to remain free from Turkish expansionism. Older residents recall the crimes committed against civilians during the 1964 air raids, the scars of which remain unhealed. The area has been effectively isolated ever since, cut off from the rest of Cyprus and left neglected.
The biggest current problem, he noted, is the Kokkina enclave. The road linking the area with Paphos- and Paphos with Nicosia- remains closed, creating severe difficulties for residents. Despite this, “we continue to remain on our land,” he said.
Occupation forces hold celebrations
Meanwhile, on Friday 8 August, the occupation forces are organising a “special ceremony” and festivities to mark the 61st anniversary of the events in Tylliria. The event will be held at 10:00 in Kokkina and attended by Turkish Cypriot officials, including occupation leader Ersin Tatar, who will arrive by military helicopter after bus and sea transport of Turkish Cypriots from the occupied territory.
The programme includes wreath-laying, speeches by the president of the “Kokkina Fighters Association” Mustafa Arikan, the “mayor” of occupied Yialousa-Karpasia Hamit Bakirtzi, and Tatar himself, followed by a tour and a closing prayer.
Bus crossings
At around 07:00, approximately 900 Turkish Cypriots began crossing the Limnitis checkpoint by bus in stages to attend the “celebrations,” which take place annually to mark the Tylliria bombing by the Turkish air force, according to Andreas Karos, head of the Committee for the Opening of Tylliria Checkpoints.
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