Georgios Anastasi: A Cypriot Fighter
Georgios Anastasi entered the world in 1933 in the village of Neo Chorio, within the Paphos district. His life ended tragically on November 4, 1956, when British forces killed him in his home village following an ambush.
Early Life and Entry into EOKA
After completing his primary education in Neo Chorio, Anastasi worked as a fisherman. He became one of the first villagers to join the EOKA liberation struggle. He initially served quietly, providing food and acting as an escort for fellow rebels in the area.
A Skilled and Active Fighter
As a member of the Neo Chorio Paphos Rifle Strike Team, Anastasi demonstrated particular skill in throwing grenades. He actively participated in sabotage operations against the British authorities. One of his key roles involved collecting artillery shells from the Arnaoutis area in Akamas, a former firing range for the British navy during World War II. EOKA then used the explosive material from these shells to manufacture mines and grenades for their campaign.
In May and June of 1956, Anastasi and his comrades cleared bushes and prepared an airstrip in the Akama area. Their plan was to receive a weapons drop from an airplane, with the armament secretly coming from Italy to supply EOKA.
The Final Ambush
On November 4, 1956, Georgios Anastasi, alongside fellow fighters Georgios Stylianou and Vasos Panagi, set an ambush at the entrance to Neo Chorio. They had provoked the British to travel from Poli Chrysochous to their village by instigating an act of defiance: their fellow villagers destroyed the Great Britain emblem on a letterbox and raised the Greek flag.
The fighters used an electric mine to immobilize the second vehicle in the British convoy. They then threw their two hand grenades at it, although one failed to explode, before beginning their retreat. They deliberately avoided hitting the first vehicle, which carried local police authorities, because the British were using two of their compatriots as human shields, forcing them to stand visibly in the car.
Capture and Execution
British soldiers, accompanied by Turkish auxiliaries, pursued the three fighters. Although the men had moved a significant distance and were nearly behind cover, an English sniper wounded their leader, Georgios Stylianou, in the leg. Anastasi and Panagi turned back to help him, but the soldiers overtook them, opened fire, and captured all three.
The forces took the captives to a spot under a carob tree. There, they executed Georgios Stylianou with a shot to the head and stabbed Georgios Anastasi and Vasos Panagi to death. The soldiers then transported the bodies to the village square and forced the villagers to walk past their mutilated corpses, which the soldiers continued to shoot and stab. Finally, they hung the bodies from their vehicles and drove them through the streets of Polis Chrysochous.
