page_title: United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
section_title: Prior to 1974
hierarchical_section_title: United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus / Deployment / Prior to 1974
caption_attribution_description: English: A map showing the deployment of UNFICYP in December 1972, including the force's sector boundaries and important installations.
context_page_description: The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions. Major General Cheryl Pearce is the current Force Commander of UNFICYP, appointed in 2018, and preceded by Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir.
  Following the 1974 Greek Cypriot coup d'état and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the United Nations Security Council extended and expanded the mission to prevent the dispute turning into war, and UNFICYP was redeployed to patrol the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and assist in the maintenance of the military status quo. Since its establishment, the force has also worked in concert with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and representatives of the two communities to seek an amicable diplomatic solution to the Cyprus dispute.
context_section_description: Upon UNFICYP's arrival on the island, the national contingents were each assigned a sector, which mostly coincided with the boundaries of the civil districts:
  Paphos District – Austrian contingent
  Lefka District (consisting of the Western part of Nicosia District) – Danish contingent
  Limassol Zone (consisting of Limassol District New Zealand contingent and the Western half of Larnaka District) – British contingent
  Nicosia District – Canadian contingent
  Larnaca Sector (consisting of the Eastern half of Larnaka District) – Irish contingent
  Kyrenia District – Finnish contingent
  Famagusta District – Swedish contingent
  When, in October 1973, the Irish contingent was withdrawn from Cyprus in support of the United Nations Emergency Force during the Yom Kippur War, the Austrian contingent was relocated from Paphos District (which was subsequently absorbed by the British contingent) to Larnaca District to replace them, with the Western half, which had previously been patrolled by the British contingent, absorbed into the Austrian sector.
  Canada in UNFICYP – From 15 March 1964 to 15 June 1993, Canada maintained a battalion-sized contingent of peace-support troops in UNFICYP. During this period, the Canadian contingent went through 59 rotations and some 25,000 CAF personnel completed six-month tours on the island.  With Denmark, Ireland and Finland, Canada was one of the four original contributors of troops to UNFICYP, committed by the government of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson on 12 March 1964. The lead elements of the initial rotation of the Canadian contingent arrived on 15 March 1964, followed by a brigade headquarters, the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, and a Reconnaissance Squadron from The Royal Canadian Dragoons mounted in Ferret scout cars that were transported to Cyprus by HMCS Bonaventure.  By 1993, when Canada withdrew its combat arms contingent from UNFICYP, every infantry battalion of the Regular Force had deployed to Cyprus at least once, and Regular Force artillery and armoured regiments had reorganized for infantry duties to take their turns.  The current contribution are small numbers of staff officers on one-year rotations.  The operation name “Snowgoose” dates from July 1974, when the Canadian contingent in UNFICYP — originally made up of 1 Commando, Canadian Airborne Regiment, and the Airborne Field Squadron (the combat engineer element of the Canadian Airborne Regiment) — was rapidly augmented by 2 Commando and 3 Commando in response to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that began on 20 July 1974.
caption: UNFICYP deployments as of December 1972.
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