Costas Georgiou

Costas Georgiou (Greek: Κώστας Γεωργίου; 21 December 1951 – 10 July 1976), also known by his alias Colonel Callan, was a Greek Cypriot turned-mercenary who was executed following the Luanda Trial for activities during the Angolan Civil War after being captured by MPLA forces.

He is described by some journalists as an extremely violent leader, sometimes referred to as a “psychopathic killer” because of his brutality toward soldiers and African populations. He is alleged to have killed Allied fighters without provocation, notably by disarming and then massacring a group of FNLA fighters—who were considered allies—within the first 48 hours of his arrival in Angola. According to some accounts, he is alleged to have killed at least 170 Angolans during his military campaign, including unarmed civilians.