Plan to encourage Cypriot Maronites to return home

Maronite Christians used to live in a handful of villages in the north of the island, but most left when fighting started between Turkish and Greek Cypriots and the island was partitioned in 1974.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, prompting Ankara to intervene as a guarantor power.
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Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, prompting Ankara to intervene as a guarantor power.

Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci has proposed a plan to encourage members of a religious minority to return to their homes, decades after they fled. 

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, prompting Ankara to intervene as a guarantor power.

Maronite Christians used to live in a handful of villages in the north of the island, but most left when the island was partitioned in 1974.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, declared as such on November 15, 1983, is currently recognised only by Turkey as an independent state while Greek Cyprus is an EU member state since 2004.

TRT World's Andrew Hopkins reports from Karpasha in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

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