Tochni massacre refers to the killing of 84

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...

from the village of Tochni,

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 1 ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...

members of EOKA B during the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

in the Summer of 1974.

Background

During the Turkish invasion at the north of the island, members of the

paramilitary group EOKA B took hostage more than 80

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...

men from the village of Tochni and the nearby village of Zygi, including minor boys of age 13. After being kept at a Greek elementary school during the night, the arrested Turkish Cypriots were boarded in a bus. According to the only survivor of the massacre, Suat Hussein Kafadar, they were taken to the village of Palodia, where they were executed with automatic guns.Paul Sant Cassia, ''Bodies of Evidence: Burial, Memory, and the Recovery of Missing Persons in Cyprus'', Berghahn Books, 2007,
Massacre&f=false p. 61.
/ref> Total number of victims is 84 (78 from Tochni and 6 from Zygi) At the massacre site, according to Kafadar, there was a Greek officer. Kafadar said in an interview that a Greek military officer with three stars spoke with them during the night and reassured them that they would not get hurt. "My friend, don't be afraid. Today you are prisoners, tomorrow we will be yours. In the army, nobody abuses captives." The atrocity took place the same day as the massacre of Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda, again by Greek Cypriots members of EOKA B. In 2016, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis ( el, Ερατώ Κοζάκου-Μαρκουλλή; born 3 August 1949) is a Cypriot politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus from July 2007 to March 2008 and from 5 August 2011 - 27 February 20 ...

, said "I apologize to the Turkish Cypriots for 126 women and children killed in Aloda, Maratha and Santalaris and 85 civilian men killed in Tochni as a result of the horrific murders committed by EOKA B extremists on 14 August 1974.".

References

{{Cyprus dispute Massacres in Cyprus 1974 in Cyprus Greek war crimes EOKA B Mass murder in 1974 Massacres in 1974 Massacres of men August 1974 events in Europe Violence against men in Europe Persecution of Turkish Cypriots Deaths by firearm in Cyprus Turkish invasion of Cyprus 1970s murders in Cyprus