Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Following a coup d'état engineered by the Greek Junta, Turkey launched a full-scale military invasion of the island in 1974. The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions on Cyprus, hundreds of paratroops were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrenia, where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established, while off the Kyrenia coast 30 Turkish troop ships protected by destroyers landed 6,000 men as well as tanks, trucks, and armored vehicles.

Three days later, when a ceasefire had been agreed, Turkey had landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridor linking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish-Cypriot quarter of Nicosia. The junta in Athens, and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fell from power. In Nicosia Glafkos Clerides assumed the presidency and constitutional order was restored; ostensibly removing the pretext the Turks gave for the invasion. The Turks used a period of negotiations to reinforce their Kyrenia bridgehead and prepare for the second phase of the invasion, which began on 14 August and resulted in the seizure of Morphou, Karpasia, Ammochostos and the Mesaoria. The Greek forces were unable to resist the Turkish advance.

International pressure led to a ceasefire at which point 37% of the island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots were evicted from their homes in the north. At the same time, around 50,000 Turkish Cypriots moved to the areas under the control of the Turkish Forces and settled in the properties of the displaced Greek Cypriots. In mid-1975, the United States Congress amongst a variety of sanctions against Turkey, imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using American-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974

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