Dimitrakis Anastasi

He was born in the town of Lysi¹, Famagusta district, on July 28, 1936.

He was killed on August 23, 1958 in his hometown, after an ambush set up by the British.

Dimitrakis Anastasi finished the primary school of Lysi and was an agricultural worker. In the struggle, his activities initially consisted of distributing leaflets, providing information from surveillance and offering services as a liaison. Later, he became an assistant to Kallis Sakka in the safekeeping of weapons. With the help of his mother, they supplied the guerrillas, transported and hid weapons.

After the arrest of EOKA members who knew of a small weapons depot in Lysi, the guerrillas Michael Kaili and Panayi Larkou, assisted by their fellow fighters Dimitrakis Anastasi and Kallis Sakka, were ordered, on August 23, 1958, to move the weapons.

They loaded two bicycles with weapons and ammunition and headed for the orchard of Dimitrakis Anastasi. As soon as they left the village, at 8:00 p.m. On that moonlit night, according to the testimony of Panayi Larkou, who survived, English soldiers, who were hiding behind two trees, suddenly attacked them. The two rebels opened fire on the soldiers.

Michael Kaili also managed to throw a grenade at the group of soldiers, while he was holding another in his hand, which he did not have time to use, because the fire of the second group of Englishmen, who were hidden in a nearby tree, killed him. The English then shot and killed Dimitrakis Anastasi and Kallis Sakka.

The English losses, as reported at the Vatili police station directly by the surviving English soldiers, were five dead and one wounded.

The heroic death of the three young men, who fell defending the sacred sites with weapons, was heard by all Greeks with emotion, but also pride.