List of massacres in Cyprus

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The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Cyprus:

NameDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorsNotes
Jewish massacre of Greeks [1] 117 CE mainly Salamis 240,000 [lower-alpha 1] Jewish rebelsAfter the revolt had been fully defeated, laws were created forbidding any Jews to live on the island.
Massacre in Lefkara1570 Lefkara 400 Venetian army against Cypriots of village [2] [3]
Massacre in Nicosia [4] September 9, 1570 Nicosia 20,000 [5] Ottoman army The city was looted following its fall to Ottomans, the figure is an estimation of deaths.
9 July Massacre of Greek-Cypriots [6] July 9, 1821 Nicosia 486Ottoman armyHundreds of prominent Greek-Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos were executed by the Ottoman Turks during the Massacres of the Greek War of Independence.
Massacre of Greek-Cypriot unarmed civilians June 12, 1958Kioneli8Turkish Cypriot CiviliansOn June 12, 1958, eight Greek-Cypriots out of an armed group of thirty five were killed by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, after having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos in suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura. [7] Part of Cypriot intercommunal violence
Monasteri massacre1 January 1964 Mosfiloti 3Turks of CyprusTurks attacked a monastery massacring three unarmed Greek monks with shotguns and injuring additional four. [8]
Limassol massacre13 February 1964 Limassol 16Greek CypriotsThe Greeks and Greek Cypriots used tanks to attack and massacre the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Limassol, killing 16 people while injuring 35. [9]
Bloody Christmas 21–31 December 1963 Nicosia 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots [10] Greek Cypriots and Turkish CypriotsGreek Cypriot irregulars committed a massacre in Omorphita, killing Turkish Cypriot women and children indiscriminately. [11] [12] 25,000 Turkish Cypriots fled and were displaced into enclaves. [13] Thousands of Turkish Cypriot homes were ransacked or destroyed 364 Turkish and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed in total, Around 1,200 Armenian and 500 Greek Cypriots were also displaced as a result. [14] [15]
Massacre in FamagustaMay 12, 1964 Famagusta 17Greek Cypriot militiaThe event happened as an act of revenge for the killing of 2 Cypriot soldiers and 1 police in city at 11 May. [16] [17]
Massacre in Akrotiri and Dhekelia May 13, 1964 Akrotiri and Dhekelia 11Greek Cypriot police forces and civiliansThe event happened as an act of revenge for the killing of 2 Cypriot soldiers and 1 police in Famagusta at 11 May. [18] [16]
Massacre in Alaminos [19] July 20, 1974 Alaminos 13 or 14 [20] [21] Greek Cypriot militia183 Turkish Cypriots and 350 Greek Cypriots used to live in town before massacre. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Massacre in Sysklipos [22] August 3, 1974 Sysklipos 14 Turkish Cypriot militia and Turkish army 14 Greek Cypriots were killed in a house and buried in a mass grave on August 3, and those who remained at the village disappeared on August 26, they are still missing. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre August 14, 1974 Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda 126EOKA BAlmost all Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the villages were killed and their bodies battered. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Tochni massacre [23] August 14, 1974 Tochni 84EOKA BEOKA B took 85 hostages from the village of Tochni and the nearby village of Zygi, mainly men and minor boys from the age of 13, to the village of Palodia for execution with automatic guns. One of them managed to escape. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [23] [29] [17] Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Massacre in Prastio August 16, 1974 Prastio, Famagusta 8Turkish armyExecution of eight civilians taken prisoner by Turkish soldiers. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus. [30] Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Massacres of the people of Asha August, 1974 Asha and Sinta 83-84Turkish army17-18 men taken as prisoners of war to Sinta and shot there. Other villagers were deported in two buses and shot on the way back from the police headquarters in Nicosia. Total number of missing from the village is given as 83-84. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus. [31] [32] [33]
Massacre in Eptakomi [34] August, 1974 Eptakomi 12Turkish army and militias12 Greek Cypriots found in a mass grave executed with their hands tied. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Massacre in Angolemi [35] August, 1974 Angolemi 5Greek Cypriot militiaA family of three (father, mother and teenage daughter) and two men killed. Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Notes

  1. This estimate comes from the Roman historian Cassius Dio.

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References

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