Friday marks July 20 Peace and Freedom Day in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which commemorates Turkey’s ‘Operation Atilla’ – a huge military intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots from inter-communal violence which struck the island in 1974.

Huge numbers of people gathered at a beach in northern Cyprus where Turkish forces entered the island on the day of the operation.

Turkish pop singer Kirac also gave a concert during the event. 

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

The latest attempt to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island ended in failure in 2017 after two years of negotiations.