Turkey is sending six F 16 fighter jets and air defense systems to northern Cyprus. Responds to a drone attack on a British base on a divided island.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense reported on Monday that it had sent six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus for security reasons. This happened a week after the British base Akrotiri, which is located on the island, was hit by a drone. TASR writes about it according to an AFP report.
Turkey does not recognize the rule of the Republic of Cyprus on this ethnically divided island and is the only country in the world to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Since the invasion of the Turkish army in 1974, the island has been divided into the southern Greek-speaking part, administered by an internationally recognized government, and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Turkey is sending fighter jets
“Due to recent developments in our region, six F-16 fighter jets as well as air defense systems have been dispatched to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to date,” the Turkish ministry said in a statement.
A base in Cyprus was hit by a drone as part of Tehran’s retaliatory attacks after the US-Israeli strikes. Nicosia said the drone was likely fired by the pro-Iranian Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and not by Iran itself.
After this incident, several European countries pledged to send air defense and other military assets to Cyprus. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to visit the island nation on Monday, ordered the dispatch of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean and a frigate along with air defense units to Cyprus.
