On July 20, 1974, a peacekeeping operation was conducted on the island in order to stop ethnic cleansing and other crimes against Turkish Muslims living on the island of Cyprus. This operation, code-named "Operation Atilla", began with the Turkish armed forces throwing troops (initially 10,000, later their number was increased to 40,000) to the north of the island. An intense battle takes place in the area of Pentemili Beach.