1974 Cypriot coup d'état

The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état was a military coup d'état by the Greek Cypriot EOKA-B paramilitary organization, backed by the Cypriot National Guard and the Greek military junta of 1967–1974. On 15 July 1974 the coup plotters ousted President Makarios III (who fled to the United Kingdom) and replaced him with pro-Enosis (union with Greece) nationalist Nikos Sampson as dictator.^[1]

Upon the guarantorship intervention request of the Turkish Cypriot leader and Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus Rauf Denktaş, Turkey sent troops to the island in 1974, taking control of the north and dividing Cyprus along what became known as the Green Line, cutting off about a third of the total territory. Sampson resigned, the military regime that had appointed him collapsed, and Makarios returned. The Turkish Cypriots established an independent government for what they called the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC), with Denktaş as president. In 1983 they would proclaim the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the northern part of the island, which remains a de facto state to the present day.

See also

• Enosis
• Cyprus dispute
• Cypriot intercommunal violence
• Treaty of Guarantee
• Turkish invasion of Cyprus
• United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus
• Republic of Cyprus
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

References