List of massacres in Cyprus


The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Cyprus:
NameDateLocationDeathsPerpetratorsNotes
Jewish massacre of Greeks.117 CEmainly Salamis240,000Jewish rebelsAfter the revolt had been fully defeated, laws were created forbidding any Jews to live on the island. See Kitos War
Massacre in Lefkara1570Lefkara400Republic of Veniceagainst Cypriots of village
Massacre in NicosiaSeptember 9, 1570Nicosia16,000-20,000Ottoman armyThe city was looted following its fall to Ottomans, the figure is an estimation of deaths, mostly Greek-Cypriot deaths.
9 July MassacreJuly 9, 1821Nicosia470Ottoman armyHundreds of prominent Greek-Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed by the Ottoman Turks.
June 1958 Attacks on Greek-CypriotsJune 1958NicosiaTotal number of Greek-Cypriot deaths unknown.Turkish CypriotsTurkish Cypriots rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned stores and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958 a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On June 26, 1984 the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On January 9, 1995 Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
Geunyeli Massacre of Greek-CypriotsJune 12, 1958Geunyeli8Turkish Cypriot CiviliansOn June 12, 1958, eight Greek-Cypriots were killed by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, after having being ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos
Bloody ChristmasDecember 21–31, 1963Nicosia497-538Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot militia18,667 Turkish Cypriots from different villages abandoned the island. 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 104 villages, amounting to a quarter of the Turkish Cypriot population, were displaced and forced to live in enclaves on an area of land encompassing 3% of the island, and were blockaded by the Greek and Greek Cypriot militia. 1,200 Armenian Cypriots and 500 Greek Cypriots were also displaced. Thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were looted, burned down and destroyed.
Massacre in FamagustaMay 12, 1964Famagusta17Greek Cypriot militiaThe event happened as an act of revenge for the killing of 2 Cypriot soldiers and 1 police in city at 11 May.
Massacre in Akrotiri and DhekeliaMay 13, 1964Akrotiri and Dhekelia11Greek 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.
Massacre in AlaminosJuly 20, 1974Alaminos13 or 14Greek Cypriot militia183 Turkish Cypriots and 350 Greek Cypriots used to live in town before massacre
Massacre in SyskliposAugust 3, 1974Sysklipos14Turkish Cypriot militia and Turkish army14 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
Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacreAugust 14, 1974Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda126EOKA BAlmost all Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the villages were killed and their bodies battered, see the relevant article
Tochni massacreAugust 14, 1974Tochni84EOKA 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.
Massacre in PrastioAugust 16, 1974Prastio, Famagusta8Turkish Cypriot militia and Turkish armyExecution of eight civilians taken prisoner by Turkish soldiers
Massacres of the people of AshaAugust, 1974Unknown, Sinta83-84Turkish Cypriot militia and Turkish 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.
Massacre in EptakomiAugust, 1974Eptakomi12Turkish Cypriot militia and Turkish army12 Greek Cypriots found in a mass grave executed with their hands tied
Massacre in AngolemiAugust, 1974Angolemi5Greek Cypriot militiaA family of three and two men killed
Massacres in northern region of CyprusAugust, 1974northern Cyprus2000-4000Turkish Army and Turkish Cypriot MilitiaGreek-Cypriot civilians were tortured and murdered by the Turkish Army and Turkish Cypriot Militia. The European commission of Human Rights with 12 votes against 1, accepted evidence from the Republic of Cyprus, concerning the rapes of various Greek-Cypriot women by Turkish soldiers and the torture of many Greek-Cypriot prisoners during the invasion of the island. The high rate of rape resulted in the temporary permission of abortion in Cyprus by the conservative Cypriot Orthodox Church. In the Karpass Peninsula, a group of Turkish Cypriots, called a "death squad", reportedly chose young Greek-Cypriot girls to rape and impregnate. There were cases of rapes, which included gang rapes, of teenage girls by Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot men in the peninsula, and one case involved the rape of an old Greek Cypriot man by a Turkish Cypriot.