Expert study to aid search for Missing in restored landfill

A decision on where to search in a restored landfill in the north where Greek Cypriots were buried after the Turkish invasion will be made after an expert study is conducted and new information regarding the site was processed, an official said on Wednesday.
Nestoras Nestoros, the Greek Cypriot member of the Committee on Mission Persons (CMP), said the Portuguese expert who had carried out the restoration of the landfill in Dikomo, in the Kyrenia district, will draft a report detailing the work done at the site around a decade ago.
Around 70 people from the village of Ashia, murdered during the 1974 invasion, are believed to be buried at a now-restored landfill in Dikomo.
According to reports obtained by the CMP, the remains were transferred there from the village of Ornithi where the executions had taken place. The relocation took place between 1995-1996.
The landfill was closed between 2009-2012 as part of an EU-funded project to restore the area. The EU was not aware of the issue at the time.
Nestoros said he also expected any new information the Turkish Cypriot member of the CMP may have to be handed over.
“Because we are not convinced of the accuracy of the information given to us initially,” he added.
Nestoros said it could be that remains from various primary burial sites had been moved to the landfill.
Digging the landfill would be an expensive endeavour due to the particular conditions, which include a high concentration of gas.

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