Visits by permanent National Guard personnel to the north and the potential security risks involved will be examined during a closed-door meeting of the House Defence Committee on Thursday.
Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, National Guard Chief Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou and Cyprus Intelligence Service (KYP) Director Tasos Tzionis will attend the meeting.
The issue was registered for ex officio examination by ELAM MPs Evgenios Hamboullas and Christos Christou.
It is not the first time the Defence Committee has considered the matter. In March 2024, committee members agreed that existing legislation should be amended to make visits by National Guard personnel to the north a disciplinary offence. That amendment ultimately did not proceed.
National Guard order remains in force
According to information provided to Politis, a current order by the National Guard General Staff (GEEF) advises personnel not to visit the north.
If a member of the military needs to travel there, for example for a religious pilgrimage, they are required to inform their unit.
Questions are also being raised about the potential risks faced by conscripts crossing to the north.
19-year-old conscript arrested in July
On 12 July 2026, a 19-year-old Greek Cypriot National Guard conscript and his female friend were arrested by authorities in the north for alleged "illegal entry and violation of a military zone".
According to the Turkish Cypriot press, the two entered the north through the Pyrgos/Limnitis crossing but continued in their vehicle without completing the required "immigration procedures".
Their Turkish Cypriot lawyer, Öncel Polili, said it was the first time the two 19-year-olds had crossed alone and they were unfamiliar with the procedure.
He said they saw the vehicle ahead of them begin moving at the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint and assumed they could proceed as well.
According to Polili, they had no intention of committing an offence. He also referred to similar incidents previously recorded at crossing points.
National Guard document found
A "court" in the north was told that a document found in the 19-year-old's possession showed that he was serving as a conscript in the National Guard.
Some Turkish Cypriot media criticised the "police" for allegedly placing excessive emphasis on this information in an effort to influence the "court" and give the case greater significance.
After two days in custody, both 19-year-olds were released after the so-called military court fined them 500 Turkish lira each, equivalent to approximately €9.
Past allegations of MIT recruitment attempts
The security concerns are partly rooted in previous cases involving National Guard conscripts visiting the north.
According to a confidential order issued by former National Guard Chief Lieutenant General Stylianos Nasis on 7 October 2011, Turkish intelligence officers had allegedly attempted to recruit National Guard personnel as informants after questioning them in the north.
The three-page order, addressed to National Guard commanders and service directors, outlined the alleged methods used by a Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) unit operating in the north and urged both military and civilian National Guard personnel not to cross.
The document was first reported by Phileleftheros on 21 October 2011.
2011 order warned of ‘staged’ incidents
Nasis warned personnel that the opening of crossing points and years of movement between the two communities may have caused some National Guard members to lose sight of the security implications of entering an area controlled by the Turkish military.
The order stated that military personnel crossing to the north could become vulnerable because of their status, warning that an arrest based on allegations such as "espionage" could place both the Republic of Cyprus and the National Guard in an extremely difficult position.
It further alleged that Turkish intelligence services identified potential targets among military personnel, conscripts and members of their families, monitored their activities in the north and could subsequently attempt to place them in compromising circumstances with the aim of recruiting them.
According to the document, the National Guard Intelligence Directorate and other services responsible for security and counterintelligence had recorded several such incidents.
Alleged shoplifting case cited
One example described in the 2011 order involved a soldier serving in an important National Guard unit who had travelled to the north for shopping.
The order alleged that, after identifying the soldier, individuals planted a shirt in his bag while he was in a changing room and then accused him of theft.
According to the account, the soldier was detained and questioned for 24 hours. He was then allegedly offered release without the arrest being recorded, together with financial and other incentives, in exchange for becoming an intelligence source.
The order stated that this was not the only incident of its kind.
Thursday's closed-door committee meeting will therefore revisit both the current rules governing visits by military personnel and the wider security and counterintelligence concerns associated with such crossings.
