Dasaki Achnas
A village of 1974 refugees on British base land
The story
Dasaki Achnas is a village in the Famagusta district on the land of the British base of Dhekelia. Britain kept this base when Cyprus became independent in 1960. The name means “the little wood of Achna”. In the summer of 1974 thousands of refugees sheltered in this pine wood, hoping that troops would not enter the base land. In August the Turkish army reached Achna, and its people also fled to the wood. At first they lived in tents, and later a new village was built nearby. Old Achna is in the north of the island, which the Republic of Cyprus has not controlled since 1974.
Which village in the Famagusta district has been occupied since 1974, with its people now living in Dasaki? The answer is Achna. Also remember the base: Dasaki stands on the land of the British base of Dhekelia, which Britain kept in 1960.
Visiting
An ordinary residential village, free to enter. You cannot reach old Achna from here: it lies beyond the dividing line.
Photos
Sources
- Sovereign Base Areas Administration — Background (1960 Treaty of Establishment, Eastern SBA Dhekelia)
- Κοινοτικό Συμβούλιο Άχνας — Ιστορική Αναδρομή (1974, refugees in Dasaki)
- PRIO Cyprus Centre — Internal Displacement in Cyprus: Achna (Düzce)
- Hallouminati — Division and special zones (exam question on Achna)
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