Cyprus Missing Persons Search Uses AI and Radar to Find Remains
A UN-backed commission investigating mass disappearances in Cyprus is using artificial intelligence and ground-penetrating radar to increase the chances of locating the remains of people who went missing during past conflicts.
The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) leads a team of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists in efforts to determine the fate of 2,002 people who disappeared during inter-ethnic violence in the 1960s and the Turkish invasion that followed a Greek-backed coup in 1974. Many victims were killed and buried in unmarked graves across the island.
New Technologies to Boost Search Efforts
Exhumation and identification efforts have slowed in recent years due to the passage of time, changing landscapes and inconsistencies in witness accounts. The CMP, which relies heavily on witnesses who are assured anonymity, now plans to strengthen its search efforts using new technologies.
“We plan to enhance our capacities to find answers through new technologies,” said Pierre Gentile, the UN representative on the CMP, which also includes a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot representative.
Gentile stated that the CMP would use AI to analyse digitised archives for new investigative leads and would expand the use of ground-penetrating radar to identify burial sites.
Progress and Ongoing Cooperation
The CMP was established in 1981 and began searching for mass graves in 2006. By the end of June 2025, the team had located and exhumed 1,707 individuals, with 1,270 remains returned to families for burial by May 2025.
The issue of missing persons remains one of the most sensitive matters arising from Cyprus’s division. However, it is also one of the few areas where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots work together towards a shared humanitarian goal.
A Delicate Humanitarian Mission
“It is a very delicate humanitarian issue, and the work we are doing is holy,” said Hakki Muftuzade, the Turkish Cypriot CMP representative. “We are fully aware of the duty we have to fulfil.”
The CMP’s efforts continue to offer hope to families seeking closure while demonstrating cooperation across Cyprus’s divided communities.
with inputs from Reuters
