Elias Papakyriakou

He was born in the village of Lythrangomi¹, Famagusta district, on January 25, 1938.

He fell on September 2, 1958 in the battle of Achyronas² in Liopetri.

Elias Papakyriakou finished the primary school of Lythrangomi and was a fifth-grade student at the Famagusta Gymnasium³, when he joined EOKA, the Famagusta strike groups, and took part in bombing attacks. He was wanted before he finished high school and was in hiding.

In March 1957, he was assigned the sub-sector of Askia (Assia) and the surrounding villages, where he developed great activity. One of his actions was the seizure of French automatic weapons from men of the French detachment that had intervened in Suez.

In the summer of 1958, the Turks launched large-scale attacks against Greek property. Elias Papakyriakou organized a Greek militia in the villages of the Vitsada-Marathovounous area, also organizing EOKA attacks in the area and thus limiting the activity of the Turkish residents of the villages of Knodara, Kiados (Tzaos), Psillatos.

On July 13, 1958, under his personal guidance, Assia fighters blew up the water pump, the premises and the water tanks that supplied water to the British forces at the Vatili police station.

On July 31, 1958, Elias Papakyriakou and a fellow fighter, while moving from the village of Mousoulita to Marathovounos, encountered a British patrol and exchanged gunfire, during which Papakyriakou was wounded in the leg.

His fellow fighter, who thought his comrade had been killed, fled to the guerrilla group of Fotis Pittas, which he encouraged to attack the British at Lysi on August 1, 1958. He himself took part in the attack. The British imposed a fortnight's house arrest, but they failed to locate Elias Papakyriakou who, although wounded, hid with another of his comrades, also wanted, in a barn in Assia, under the protection of two girls.

On September 2, 1958, Elias was surrounded by British soldiers, along with the heroes Andreas Karyos, Fotis Pittas and Christos Samaras, in a barn in Liopetri, where they fought and fell gloriously, when they attempted to escape from the barn.