www.military.ie the defence forces magazine
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Blessing of 11 Inf Gp vehicles by the unit
Padres at Xeros Camp Oct 1968. Pic
courtesy Col Brendan McCann (Retd).
Cavalry Patrol of 11 Inf Gp near Xeros.
Pic courtesy Lt Col Rearse McCorley
(Retd).
Armd Car Gp 12 Inf Gp (1969) on parade in Xeros
Camp. Capt Martin O'Neill, 2 I/C, taking the
parade from Sqn Sgt Bill Gleeson. Pic courtesy
SQMS Walter Tobin (Retd).
efforts to prevent a recurrence of fighting and, as necessary, to contribute to
the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to
normal conditions."
While the number of incidents
decreased as UNFICYP deployed and an uneasy peace held, there were sporadic
outbreaks of fighting. The most severe inter-communal fighting since 1964 erupted
on 12th November 1967. Following intensive diplomatic efforts the fighting was
brought to an end and the inter-communal security situation improved during 1968
(the average monthly armed incidents had dropped from 350 in 1964 to 10 in 1968)
and by the end of the year UNFICYP had been reduced to 3,708 personnel.
Then on 15th July 1974 units of the Greek Cypriot National Guard, under the direc-
tion of mainland Greek army officers and aided by EOKA fighters, staged a coup
d'état. Hundreds of Greek and Turkish Cypriots were killed in the fighting, providing
Turkey with a pretext to act in defence of the Turkish Cypriot population. According-
ly, on 20th July 1974 Turkish forces launched an airborne assault in northern Nicosia
