Turkish Cypriot crossings to Republic rise 14% as Greek Cypriot visits to the occupied nor
Source: in-cyprus.com
The number of Turkish Cypriots crossing from the occupied areas to the free areas is rising, whilst the flow of Greek Cypriots to the occupied territories is declining, according to figures published today by the newspaper Halkin Sesi.
During the period from January to August 2025, the total number of “entries” into the occupied areas fell by 1.18% compared with the previous year, reaching 5,144,332 people, down from 5,205,706 in 2024.
Based on data from the so-called “tourism ministry” and “police,” 2,156,025 crossings involved Turkish Cypriots, 1,677,680 involved Greek Cypriots, and 1,310,627 came from third-country nationals.
Opposing trends accelerate
The decline in Greek Cypriot crossings to the occupied areas appears to be accelerating, whilst the movement of Turkish Cypriots to the Greek Cypriot side is growing at a similar pace.
Specifically, Turkish Cypriot crossings to the “south” increased by 14.12% in the first eight months of 2025, exceeding 2,158,000, whilst Greek Cypriot crossings fell by 14.75%—a drop of 291,350 compared with the previous year.
Meanwhile, the newspaper Dialog highlights the difficulties at checkpoints, which it describes as “torture” for patients and citizens. According to the report, even in emergencies, ambulances are delayed in passing through, forcing patients to disembark for checks.
Citizens who witnessed such incidents said the first duty of the two leaders is to reduce congestion at the checkpoints and proceed with opening new checkpoints without delay.
They also complained about the slow pace of checks at Greek Cypriot checkpoints and called on Tufan Erhurman to raise the issue with President Nikos Christodoulides.
(information from CNA)
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
