*** Welcome to piglix ***

Cypriot intercommunal violence

Cyprus crisis
Part of the Cyprus dispute
Date 1955-1964
Location Cyprus
Result

Greek Cypriot military and political victory

Belligerents
EOKA (1955-1959)
Flag of Cyprus (1960-2006).svg Cyprus (1963-1967)
Greece
Turkey TMT
 Turkey (1964)
Commanders and leaders
Georgios Grivas Rauf Denktaş
Casualties and losses

56 dead (June–August 1958) 174 dead (1963-64)

Total 230+

53 dead (June–August 1958) 364 dead (1963-64)

Total 417+

Greek Cypriot military and political victory

56 dead (June–August 1958) 174 dead (1963-64)

53 dead (June–August 1958) 364 dead (1963-64)

There was a period of political and violent conflict in Cyprus, also known as the Cyprus crisis and EOKA period, between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, between 1955 and 1964.

In 1914, after the Ottoman Empire joined World War I on the side of the Central Powers, the island was annexed by the United Kingdom. Soon afterward, the UK offered the island to King Constantine I of Greece on condition that Greece join the war on the side of the British. Although the offer was supported by Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, it was rejected by the King, who wished to keep Greece out of the war.

After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the new Turkish government formally recognized Britain's sovereignty over Cyprus. Greek Cypriots believed it was their natural and historic right to unite the island with Greece (enosis), as many of the Aegean and Ionian islands had done following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In 1931, riots broke out in Cyprus against the British administration. The British suppressed the riots, abolished the legislative council in Cyprus, and banned all political parties. At the end of the Second World War Britain rejected fresh demands for enosis, offering concessions on home rule, or self-government, instead.

In August 1954 Greece, which had previously avoided involvement in Cyprus because of its alliance with the United Kingdom, unsuccessfully sought to have the question of Cyprus’s status brought before the United Nations General Assembly. In the subsequent UN discussions, Turkey announced that it opposed a union of Cyprus with Greece and declared that if Britain withdrew from the island, control of Cyprus should revert to Turkey, as Turks made up a significant portion of the population of the island and had ruled the island for several hundred years prior to leasing the island to the British and the subsequent British annexing of the island in 1914. Greek Cypriots felt that this position paid little respect to the right of self-determination of the Cypriot people.


...
Wikipedia

...