Akrotiri and Dhekelia, 1960

The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory on Cyprus, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence. This had been agreed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. The areas house British military bases and installations and serve an essential role in intelligence gathering and network monitoring in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Akrotiri is located in the south of the island near Limassol, and Dhekelia is in the southeast, near Larnaca, bordering the UN buffer zone and the area controlled by the Turkish forces. The flag used is that of the United Kingdom.