Evros River incident

Evros River incident
Part of Greece-Turkey relations
Map of the Evros River, along the Greece-Turkey border
Date December 15, 1986 Location Disputed: Greece: near Feres, Evros River, Greece Turkey: Ipsala township in western Edirne Province, Turkey Result Ceasefire
Belligerents
Greece	Turkey
Commanders and leaders
Zissis Karagogos  †	?
Units involved
Hellenic Army	Turkish Army
Casualties and losses
2	2

On December 15, 1986, Greek and Turkish soldiers clashed near the town of Feres along the Evros river.^[1]

The incident began at 11:15 a.m, when a 3-man Greek Army patrol, guarding the border against the passage of Iranian refugees, met with a Turkish Armed Forces patrol along the Evros river border. The Greek party met with the Turkish, and Greek soldier, Zissis Karagogos, met with one of the Turkish soldiers who offered to trade cigarettes. The Greek soldier set down his rifle and helmet and as he moved closer, he was fatally shot by a Turkish soldier lying in wait. The shooting death sparked a fire-fight between both parties that killed two Turkish soldiers, Lt. Hakan Turkyilmaz and Pvt. Mehmet Kalyon, and wounded a Greek soldier, Dimitris Karayannis.^[2][3]

In response to the death of one of its soldiers, the Greek defense ministry demanded an apology and compensation. In the end, both sides deemed the exchange a "local one" and did not escalate the situation.

Turkish and Greek soldiers have exchanged fire in the past as Greeks tried to stop Iranian refugees from entering the country illegally from Turkey, but this incident was the first in which there have been casualties. During this period Greek soldiers along the border with Turkey was on alert after receiving reports that Turkey planned to help thousands of refugees slip into Greece illegally.^[4]

See also

• 1987 Aegean crisis - border dispute between Greece and Turkey the next year that almost escalated into an all-out war.

References