Aircraft will make low-level flypasts over Nicosia at around 11am on Tuesday, September 29, as part of rehearsals for the October 1 military parade marking 66 years since the Republic of Cyprus declared independence.
The National Guard General Staff said the flights were part of planned preparations for the parade and there was no cause for public concern.
Cyprus was under British rule from 1878 until 1960. In the 1950s, Greek Cypriots began fighting for union with Greece under EOKA (the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), in a conflict that lasted four years.
Independence came on August 16, 1960, guaranteed by Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom under the London and Zurich Agreements. Commemorations were moved to October 1 in the early 1960s to avoid the hot summer holiday season.
The holiday is celebrated with festivities and the parade, which is made up of units from the National Guard, the Greek forces stationed in Cyprus, the police and the fire service. The President traditionally gives a speech afterwards, and shops and businesses may close countrywide.
