The administration in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus decided on Tuesday to open Varosha, an abandoned southern quarter of the Cypriot city of Famagusta, for settlement, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported.
“The Council of Ministers will evaluate the conditions for action in Varosha, which is legally a military zone in the TRNC,” Kudret Ozersay, an official of the administration said referring to the occupied north.
The authorities will coordinate its actions with Ankara, sources told Demirören News Agency (DHA), adding that an expert team from the TRNC will visit Varosha to make a list of movable and immovable properties in the city.
Varosha was a famous resort region in Cyprus which once boasted a capacity of 10,000 beds across more than 100 hotels. It has been a deserted no-man’s land since 1974 following the Turkish invasion of the island, after all its residents fled.
The city is protected by a 1984 U.N. Security Council resolution, which states that the the deserted town can only be resettled by its original inhabitants.
Related: Cypriots Mark Epiphany at Ghost Town of Famagusta (video)
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