Soldier remembered on 26th anniversary of his killing

A WREATH-laying ceremony was held on Thursday last week for Private Allahverdi Kılıç, who was shot dead by Greek Cypriot soldiers 26 years ago.

Pte Kılıç, who was 20, was performing his military service in the TRNC’s Security Forces Command when he was killed while at his observation post in the Gazimağusa district village of Güvercinlik, close to the border with South Cyprus, on September 8, 1996.

At the time it was believed that the killing was in retaliation for the deaths of two Greek Cypriot civilians during buffer zone clashes the previous month in nearby Derinya.

President Ersin Tatar, Security Forces Commander Major General Zorlu Topaloğlu, military personnel, the relatives of Pte Kılıç, other officials, and members of the public attended the ceremony, which was held at the guard post where Pte Kılıç was fatally wounded by shots fired from across the border.

There was a moment of silence followed by the hoisting of flags and the singing of the national anthem and speeches.

President Ersin Tatar laying a wreath at the observation post where Private Allahverdi Kılıç (pictured left) was killed