Fifty-two years after the dramatic events of July 1974, Nikos Siikkis, now 67 years old, recounts in harrowing detail his memories of an era that forever marked Cyprus—and his own life. He was just 16 years old when he found himself at the center of the coup d’état in Paphos, taking part in operations, battles, arrests, and armed clashes. As he himself notes, he was the youngest of all those who actively participated in the operations of those days in the Paphos district.

His account begins in the early morning hours of July 15, 1974. According to him, the information circulating among President Makarios’s supporters was clear: military forces were about to move out from the Paphos Military Command Headquarters as part of the coup d’état.

Read more: “I was holding the baby with half its head missing”: The brutal murder of 8-year-old Stavros and his grandmother Margarita during the coup

Nikos, who was young at the time, found himself, along with other men, facing a decision that, as it turned out, would determine the course of events in the area.

“We had known since the morning that the army would attack from the Paphos Military Command. We didn’t expect them to come after us. We decided to make our move first to get the jump on them,” he says.

That is how the operation to seize the camp was organized. Nikos Siikkis recalls that the forces opposing the coup entered the KEN and initially managed to bring the entire facility under their control.

“We entered the KEN. We arrested Commander Katerinakis. Siellis was arrested, along with members of the Tselepos family and various other civilians. We put them all in the disciplinary barracks at the Paphos KEN. At that moment, we believed we had complete control of the camp and that we had preempted the events,” he recalls.

According to him, the operation unfolded quickly and effectively. But very soon, the situation began to change dramatically.

As he describes it, a person who presented himself as a supporter of their side and was moving among the men who had taken over the camp took an action that turned the situation on its head.

“There was a crafty individual who was supposedly on our side. He opened the disciplinary office and released everyone we had arrested.”

This development proved decisive.

Nikos Siikkis explains that the forces that had carried out the raid were unaware that weapons were stored inside the control room. On the contrary, the officers and staff who had been arrested knew exactly where the weapons were located.

“We didn’t know. They knew it very well. As soon as they left the disciplinary office, they ran straight to the administration building. They grabbed the weapons and launched a counterattack.”

In a matter of moments, the balance of power shifted.

The freed officers and soldiers armed themselves, regrouped, and fought back vigorously. Moreover, they had the keys to the military trucks in their possession.

“They took the vehicles and drove out of the camp. They headed toward the police station and seized its facilities.”

The success of the initial takeover turned into a battle for survival.

Faced with this development, the democratic forces that had occupied the KEN were forced to withdraw. Nikos Siikkis recalls that his group left the area and headed toward Limassol, where clashes were already underway.

In his account, Andreas Sarris occupies a special place; he describes him as the man who led the resistance in Paphos.

The way he speaks of Sarris reveals the respect and admiration he continues to hold for him.

“Andreas Sarris was fearless. He walked into the command post alone and grabbed Katerinakis. He feared nothing. His soul told him so. He was a man few could stand up to.”

According to Nikos Siikkis, the occupation of the KEN was carried out by EDEK forces under the leadership of Andreas Sarris.

Following the takeover, arrests were made of individuals believed to be linked to EOKA B.

“We arrested several people from Paphos who belonged to EOKA B. We did our job properly. We took over the KEN and handed it over to the so-called Union of Fighters.”

However, he believes that’s where the problems began.

“The people who took it over weren’t trained. They had no experience. They didn’t know how to handle such a situation. That’s when control was lost.”

The following days were marked by constant movements and clashes.

From Paphos, they moved to Limassol, where the situation was extremely tense.

Nikos Siikkis recalls street battles, exchanges of fire, and a widespread sense that the entire country was at war.

“We were fighting in Limassol and trying to hold our positions. No one knew what would happen in the next hour.”

According to him, the situation changed again when military forces from Kythrea moved against them.

“The battalion from Kythrea arrived and attacked Limassol. That’s when we were forced to retreat.”

His group returned to Paphos, where events continued to unfold rapidly.

During the night, military forces entered the city with the aim of locating Andreas Sarris.

Nikos Siikkis vividly recalls a moment that would shape his decisions.

His brother, Panikos, who was part of the military convoy, ran to find them.

“He came running. He found us and told us that if we had any weapons, we had to hand them over, or else they would execute us.”

The warning was clear.

Nikos, who was 16 at the time, made a decision that would lead him into a new adventure.

“I told them I wouldn’t hand anything over. If the army took over Paphos, our plan was to flee to the mountains of Panagia and continue the resistance.”

It was a plan that had already been discussed and served as a fallback option in case the coup forces gained complete control.

But he never managed to get there.

Along with Michalis’s Stavros, they were arrested at Agioi Pente, on the mountain of Geroskipou.

“They surrounded us. They shouted at us to surrender. We had no way to escape.”

They were forced to surrender. Interrogations and pressure followed, aimed at making them reveal where the weapons were and who was involved in the anti-coup groups.

The moments that followed are among the harshest he remembers.

“They held us prisoner and beat us constantly. Those were very difficult hours.”

The most dramatic moment came just before dawn.

“At five in the morning, we learned they were going to take us to be executed.”

Nikos Siikkis recalls thinking that the end had come.

But at the last moment, something happened that changed everything.

A relative of Stavros, the late Panagiotakis, intervened and saved them. “They unlocked our shackles and untied us. If that hadn’t happened, we might not be alive today.”

For a short while, they believed they had been saved.

But their ordeal was not over.

“As soon as we left Geroskipou, they arrested us again.”

This time, the purpose was different.

The armed forces needed people who knew how to handle weapons in anticipation of the Turkish invasion.

“During the coup, they knew how to fight against Cypriots. When the real war came, they didn’t know how. That’s why they sent us to the front lines.”

Today, half a century later, Nikos Siikkis still believes that many of the events of that period remain unknown to younger generations.

He argues that historical memory is at risk of being forgotten or distorted.

He recalls the murders, executions, persecutions, and divisions that scarred Cypriot society.

He makes special mention of the five young men from Ypsonas who, he says, lost their lives because they were Makarios supporters.

“Many people were killed in cold blood. Murders were committed. Crimes were committed that must not be forgotten.”

For him, the greatest responsibility of those who lived through these events is to speak openly about them.

“Young people need to know what happened. They need to know why we have a democracy today. Nothing was given for free. There were people who fought, who put themselves in danger, and who made sacrifices.”

At 67 years old, Nikos Siikkis remains the same man who, at age 16, found himself holding a weapon amid civil conflict, participating in the occupation of the KEN in Paphos, fighting in Limassol, planning guerrilla operations in the mountains of Panagia, being arrested in Geroskipou and waiting for dawn, believing he would be led to the firing squad, and to fight the Turks on the front lines.

His testimony is not merely a personal recollection. It is a valuable historical document of one of the darkest and most tragic periods in the modern history of Cyprus, recording, through the eyes of a 16-year-old, the moments that forever changed the course of the island.