The testimony below has been published in the book by Rony Alasor, titled: "Διαταγή Εκτελέστε τους Αιχμαλώτους" [Order Execute the Prisoners], (Kastanioti Publishers, 2002).  On pages 117-119 the eyewitness O. Saat who in 1974 served in the Firepower Coordination Centre of the Artillery Command Unit, 1st Squadron of the 21st Artillery Regiment of the Turkish army, which was transferred to Cyprus two to three days after the first invasion, reports:

Order of a Top Ranking Turkish Commander: "load them on the train"

"Following the order of our Commander, Mehmet Gungkiormous or Gungkioren, we loaded them on military vehicles of our squad.  The Officers took their money, watches, and valuable chains that they had on them.  Some of them begged for their lives tearfully.  Our Commander, who at that time was a Major and later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, tried to reassure them, not out of compassion, but rather to rid himself of their annoying pleas, by saying: "Don't cry, we will take you to your children".  Among the captives there were some persons who knew Turkish.  From what they were saying, those would be sent to a prisoners detention camp in Nicosia.  As a result they were boarded on to three military vehicles separately from others.  During the searches and checks we did in the homes of the village we did not find weapons of any kind.

In the morning of the following day the Commander called Bilal Gilmaz a racist and barbaric Sergeant. He called me also, because we were in the same unit.  Captain Ertzan Sandik approached us and asked us if we were married or not.  When I replied that I was married, he ordered me to get down. As a result I did not go with them. The Captain along with Bilal Gilmaz and Officer Mouchamer took the prisoners and drove them to a location where there were three wells.  Their eyes and hands were bound.  Our people were holding automatic Tomson weapons.  The area with the three wells was close to the village of Aphania and Tymbou, off the main road.  The prisoners were driven there.  After a while gun shots were heard.  I must inform you that Gilmaz, although he was just a Sergeant, he took a leading role in many operations and intervened in a lot of matters, which occasionally led me to raise questions whether he had a different rank, and for some reason pretended to be a sergeant. After this event he turned up with a conspiratory but self satisfying look and he described the execution to me. He was so proud for his great accomplishment. He said with arrogance: "We killed them, and those who were wounded [χαροπάλευαν - at death's door], we threw them into the wells. If only you were on one side to see how we threw a stout Greek Cypriot in the well. He dropped straight to the bottom.  What a sound it made! It was great fun, I enjoyed it".  Later the Commander reported on the radio "Order accomplished.  We loaded them on the train".  These 70 are gone..., for the rest of the 30 I have no information...

For as long as we remained in Aphania, there was some order.  We started to implement a programme of morning exercise. Our instructor was probably Bilal Gilmaz.  During our exercise session he would lead us running outside the village, in the location of the three wells.  The Sergeant would put his foot on top of the lids of the wells, which were now sealed, and shouted: "Soldiers! here we buried forever our enemies in such a way that they will never be able to return".

The 70 Missing Civilians Murdered in Ornithi by the Turkish Army

Relevant Articles:

Strong Resolution by the European Parliament Condemning Turkey

Turkish policy on Cyprus: The case of the missing persons of Assia

Turkish Policy on Cyprus: Continued violation of human rights and systematic destruction of our cultural heritage