June 20, 1956
CYPRUS: Nicosia, 18 – The tragic epilogue to British mopping-up operations by 5,000 soldiers to discover the whereabouts of the leader of the National Cypriot Fighters’ Organization (EOKA), General Georgios Grivas-Digenis, in dense forests on Mount Troodos in the southeastern part of Cyprus, took the form of a huge fire which continues to rage. No one as yet knows the exact number of victims. Late in the afternoon the military authorities announced that 19 British soldiers had died in the fire and 18 had sustained serious burns. It is likely, however, that the number of victims will be much higher, given the large number of injured being brought in to hospitals. GEORGIOS GRIVAS-DIGENIS: London, 18 – The British claim that EOKA leader General Grivas-Digenis has escaped arrest. WILLIAM BOTELER: A very sad event that occurred on June 16 has caused deep sorrow in Cyprus as well as in Athens and Washington. A bomb that exploded in the Little Soho restaurant in Nicosia, frequented almost solely by the British, injured five Americans including the US Deputy Consul in Cyprus William Boteler, who later died of his injuries.
