Significance
Since December 1963, thousands of Turkish Cypriots became concentrated in enclaves, as a result of the intercommunal fighting (see Cyprus dispute). Kokkina was one of the last port areas under Turkish Cypriot control and a vital supply link with Turkey for Turkish Cypriot fighters.
In the eyes of the Greek Cypriot authorities, Kokkina was a threat to the nation's security posed by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries, and cutting it off would have severed Turkish Cypriot armed groups from resupply and reinforcement.
When the Turkish military staged their invasion in Cyprus in 1974, Kokkina was a specific objective. The exclave became part of the Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus in 1975, then the TRNC when it declared UDI in November 1983. However, this declaration of independence was condemned as legally invalid by United Nations Security Council Resolution 541 (1983) and has yet to be recognized by any sovereign state except Turkey.
Read more about this topic: Kokkina Exclave
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