Turkey in a secret operation transported 42 German Leopard-2A4 supertanks to Kythrea, a small town 10 kilometers northeast of Nicosia, in the Turkish Republic of the Northern Cyprus (KKTC), the Greek Reporter said, citing the Greek Tovima news website.
The tanks and their shells were transported from the Turkish city of Edirne by cargo ship.
The report said the tanks belong to Turkey’s First Army in the Evros region, where all Turkish army tanks with 120mm projectiles are kept.
According to the report, the United States and Germany have prohibited the transfer to Cyprus of weapons systems they have manufactured.
Nevertheless, Ankara frequently uses American-made weapons systems.
The transport of the Leopard-2A4s by the Turkish occupation forces did not go unnoticed by the government of Cyprus. The report underlined that European-made armament – in this case German – is used in the occupation of EU territory by a third country, namely Turkey.
Turkey and Greek Cyprus are at odds due to Ankara’s ship drilling activity off Cyprus for natural gas.