Editing Turkish Armed Forces (section)

===Cyprus===
{{Main|Cyprus dispute|Military operations during the Invasion of Cyprus (1974)}}

On 20 July 1974, the TAF launched an [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] and [[airborne forces|airborne]] [[Operation Atilla|assault operation]] on [[Cyprus]], in response to the [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état]] which had been staged by [[EOKA-B]] and the [[Cypriot National Guard]] against president [[Makarios III]] with the intention of [[Enosis|annexing the island]] to Greece; but the military intervention ended up with Turkey occupying a considerable area on the northern part of Cyprus and helping to establish a local government of [[Turkish Cypriots]] there, which has thus far been recognized only by Turkey. The intervention came after more than a [[Cypriot intercommunal violence|decade of intercommunal violence]] (1963–1974) between the island's [[Greek Cypriots]] and [[Turkish Cypriots]], resulting from the constitutional breakdown of 1963. Turkey invoked its role as a guarantor under the [[Treaty of Guarantee (1960)|Treaty of Guarantee]] in justification for the military intervention.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.tr/how-did-the-situation-change-after-july-1974-_.en.mfa|title=From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=17 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716092035/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/how-did-the-situation-change-after-july-1974-_.en.mfa|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Turkish forces landed on the island in two waves, invading and occupying 37% of the island's territory in the northeast for the Turkish Cypriots, who had been isolated in small enclaves across the island prior to the military intervention.<ref name=Gis>{{cite book |title=Divided Cyprus: Modernity, History, and an Island in Conflict |year=2006 |url=https://archive.org/details/dividedcyprusmod00papa |url-access=limited |last= Welz |first= Gisela |publisher= Indiana University Press |isbn= 0-253-21851-9|page= [https://archive.org/details/dividedcyprusmod00papa/page/n14 2]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Carpenter, Ted Galen |title=NATO's Empty Victory: A Postmortem on the Balkan War |url=https://archive.org/details/natosemptyvictor00carp_0 |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Cato Institute]] |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2000 |page= [https://archive.org/details/natosemptyvictor00carp_0/page/36 36]|isbn=1-882577-85-X }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Carpenter, Ted Galen |title=Peace and Freedom: Foreign Policy for a Constitutional Republic |url=https://archive.org/details/peacefreedomfore0000carp |url-access=registration |publisher=Cato Institute |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2002 |page=[https://archive.org/details/peacefreedomfore0000carp/page/187 187] |isbn=1-930865-34-1 }}</ref>

In the aftermath, the Turkish Cypriots declared a separate political entity in the form of the [[Turkish Federated State of Cyprus]] in 1975; and in 1983 made a unilateral declaration of independence as the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]], which is recognized only by Turkey to this day. The United Nations continues to recognize the sovereignty of the [[Republic of Cyprus]] according to the terms of its independence in 1960. The conflict continues to overshadow Turkish relations with Greece and with the [[European Union]]. In 2004, during the [[Cypriot Annan Plan referendum, 2004|referendum]] for the [[Annan Plan for Cyprus]] (a United Nations proposal to resolve the [[Cyprus dispute]]) 76% of the [[Greek Cypriots]] rejected the proposal, while 65% of the [[Turkish Cypriots]] accepted it.