AI Technology Aids in Unmasking Cyprus's Lost Traces

A U.N.-backed commission in Cyprus is leveraging AI and ground-penetrating radar technology to locate and identify individuals who disappeared during past conflicts, principally from the 1960s inter-ethnic tensions and the 1974 Turkish invasion. The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) aims to overcome historical challenges using modern technology.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Nicosia | Updated: 07-07-2025 18:01 IST | Created: 07-07-2025 18:01 IST
AI Technology Aids in Unmasking Cyprus's Lost Traces
This image is AI-generated and does not depict any real-life event or location. It is a fictional representation created for illustrative purposes only.
  • Country:
  • Cyprus

The U.N.-backed Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus is harnessing artificial intelligence and advanced radar technologies to expedite the search for individuals who vanished amid past conflicts on the island. The team comprises various experts aiming to clarify the fates of 2,002 missing individuals, victims of 1960s violence and the 1974 invasion.

Despite careful witness anonymity, challenges have impeded progress, such as conflicting testimonies and landscape changes over time. Pierre Gentile, representing the U.N. in the CMP, highlighted the intention to utilize digital archives and radar technologies to improve discovery capabilities and resolve discrepancies.

Since its inception in 1981, with active fieldwork beginning in 2006, the CMP has successfully exhumed 1,707 individuals. It presents a unique cooperation point for Greek and Turkish Cypriots, united by the humanitarian cause to address this poignant issue from Cyprus's complex history.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Give Feedback