Kofinou

Kofinou (Greek: Κοφίνου; Turkish: Köfünye or Geçitkale) is a village located in the Larnaca District of Cyprus. It is situated where the roads from Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol trisected, prior to the by-pass built in the 1990s.

Kofinou
village
Kofinou
Location in Cyprus
Coordinates: 34°49′33″N 33°23′30″E
Country Cyprus
DistrictLarnaca District
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total1,312
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

History

Pre-1974, the village was inhabited by Turkish Cypriots only, the few original Cypriot Greek inhabitants having abandoned the village in the late 1950s. The population of the village also increased substantially after 1964, as some 60 Turkish Cypriot families from Pano Lefkara abandoned their Greek Cypriot dominated village in the aftermath of December 1963 events.

The village became infamous on 15 November 1967, when some thousands of National Guards troops overran the TMT (a Turkish-Cypriot armed group) fighters located at the village, including the neighbouring mixed village of Agios Theodoros. Turkish-Cypriot TMT members stationed at the area were controlling the area and blocking the main road from Nicosia to Limassol, making it impossible for Greek-Cypriots civilians to pass through the area without UN escort. On 15 November 1967, General Grivas and his large battalion of mainly mainland Greece originating conscripts caused enough concerns for the lightly armed Turkish Cypriots to return fire when they intruded too closely to the Turkish Cypriot owned land. The fighting escalated and some 24 Turkish Cypriots, including unarmed civilians lost their lives in the overnight events; Turkey's ultimatum the following day resulted in the withdrawal of the National Guard from the two villages.

This event in particular saw the return of Grivas and his battalion back to Greece. In addition, this event also culminated in the removal of all road blocks upon which Turkish Cypriot buses entering Nicosia were being stopped and by which means the passengers were subjected to a humiliating body search.

After the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the original Turkish Cypriot population of Kophinou were allocated the village of Lefkoniko - the new Geçitkale - in the north by the Cypriot Turkish administration, to this day where many of them reside, whereas the original Turkish Cypriot population of Pano Lefkara are now residing in Agios Theodoros in the north of the island.

In Kofinou will be place for big HVDC converter stations for 2,000 MW EuroAsia Interconnector and EuroAfrica Interconnector.[2][3] EuroAsia Interconnector is a 2000 MW electricity interconnector between Greek, Cypriot, and Israeli power grids via 1520 km long submarine power cable. EuroAfrica Interconnector is 2000 MW interconnector between Greek, Cypriot, and Egypts power grids via 1710 km long submarine power cable. Converter stations will be near the existing Kofinou 132kV transmission substation of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.

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References
  1. "C1. POPULATION ENUMERATED BY SEX, AGE, DISTRICT, MUNICIPALITY/COMMUNITY AND QUARTER (1.10.2011)", Population - Place of Residence, 2011, Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus, 17 April 2014, archived from the original on 20 April 2014, retrieved 20 April 2014
  2. EuroAsia Interconnector – Official site
  3. EuroAfrica Interconnector
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