Turkish Cypriot soldiers in suicide riddle

THE FIRST Battalion of the ‘Turkish Cypriot Security Forces’ is at the centre of a suicide riddle after four soldiers are reported to have killed themselves.

All the deaths occurred over the past three months.

Reports in the Turkish press yesterday said the fourth victim was found dead on Sunday morning. Semih Arigan, 19, had shot himself while on sentry duty. His family had moved back to the occupied areas from Australia six years ago.

The papers noted that just three days earlier, Raafat El-Habta, 23, another soldier in the battalion, committed suicide after a row with his and Arigan’s commanding officer.

During the fight, El-Habta apparently threatened to murder the commanding officer and then take his own life. El-Habta’s family are of Lebanese origin. His father was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a fishing boat at Famagusta port three years ago.

It is not known whether El-Habta and Arigan knew each other, or why El- Habta’s fought with his Turkish commanding officer. Several papers expressed concern over the unusual coincidences in the events, suggesting an inquiry to investigate activities at the battalion.

In addition, three other soldiers have committed suicide at other battalions in recent months, the papers said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.