Greek Cypriots fire 400 bullets at UN soldiers and villagers

This happened 60 years ago on June 18th, 1964

Readers mail.....

From Anders Arvidsson, a Swedish former UN Peacekeeper....

Hello Chris!

This is what happened exactly 60 years ago today to two of my friends and this truth of the Cyprus history should be published and shared with the world if you will please..

Regards

Anders

Greek Cypriots fire 400 bullets at UN soldiers and villagers

The Swedish UN soldiers Ulf Sjogren and Lars Frost were a part of the UN observation post in Selemani, one of the small Turkish Cypriot villages in Dillarga the northwestern part of the island.

UN observation posts consisted of a group of 4-5 soldiers camped in a tent completed with some rudimentary household items to maintain their cooking. A petrol stove some saucepans a frying pan and most valued the coffee pot. The post was always situated on the outskirts of the villages at a strategic position from where it was possible to keep a watch on the closest environment.

 The village Mukhtar had the day before asked for a patrol for this morning to escort some of the villagers down to their potato fields by the Pyrgos stream some 300 metres from the village. Escort was needed since the stream bordered the Pano Pyrgos  (Greek) village on the opposite side of the valley.

The two friends, Sjogren and Frost, both in their twenties, made themselves ready, and filled their water flasks with the lukewarm water from the milk jar they used to fill at the village well. They had a sandwich in their trouser leg pockets, and took the UN flag and a pole to put it on, which was the most important detail when escorting the villagers on their harvest.

Security action was being taken

It was important to tell everyone that these people out in the open terrain were protected by the United Nations according to the rules agreed by both sides earlier that year. Now, in June the Swedes came to know, by experience, that it was important to be careful and strict to show their appearance as the hills were full of trigger-happy, undisciplined young men, well even older, and it happened that UN units were often shot at during their missions.

There follows a direct translation from Ulf Sjogrens diary, written the same day.

Today hell broke out.

In the morning Frost and I will go with 3 women and 3 men from the village to watch over them when they harvest potatoes. Without our knowledge, another woman had also gone out in the fields beside us.

The Greek Cypriots started immediately to shoot from their height at her. The Turkish Cypriots we were with took cover at once. The woman fled and got out of the area without being hurt. After a while, the villagers we were escorting returned to work their harvesting.

We could see the Greeks moving on the summit but we could not believe they would start shooting at us; as we carried the UN flag which was fully visible. Half an hour later it all broke out again as they started to fire directly at us. What do we do?  We run for cover; we also succeeded in getting the Turkish Cypriots in cover without anyone being hurt. 

I tried to get to our OP posting camp for help, but when I reached the road the bullets riddled all around me, I nearly gave up there. I took cover behind the car we came in. They continued to fire at me, bullets came under the car, over it beside it and of course on it. I sat behind one of the wheels scared to death. The gravel whirled around me and I was afraid of ricochets. Suddenly they stopped firing.

My friend cried to me that I had to get some help since I was the one nearest the village and the OP. I tried to move but as soon they saw me moving they started firing again. I just prayed I would not be hit.

Frost and the villagers took cover behind the trees sparsely spread among the small fields. The rest of the patrol up in Selemani OP immediately radioed the company reporting the incident and asking for reinforcement.

The company was unable to send any help since all the remaining forces were simultaneously engaged in heavy fighting in the Erenköy / Mansour area.

Let us return to Sjogren behind the rear wheel of the car.

We were stuck for three hours waiting for support to arrive, but nobody showed up. In the end one of the guys came and told me that he had been at the camp in Kato Pyrgos where there only were three men.

 All the others were out because it was a major alarm for the whole Battalion. The thought came that now we will never get back home. But after many hours without any shooting we sneaked away and up to the village.  It was very grateful Turks that returned back home to the village. After recovering from the shock they came to our place, thanked us and brought lots of food. That was touching to see. Our friends who had stayed in the OP told us that about 400 bullets had been fired at us, so we must have been lucky.

Luck, indeed, saved these two lives as many others, shooting at UN patrols and UN flags were done if not daily so at least weekly by different Greek positions during the hot months of the summer of 1964.

To read more reviews and Readers Mail click here
https://cyprusscene.com/2024/06/18/greek-cypriots-fire-400-bullets-at-un-soldiers-and-villagers/