July 14, 1983 – Brussels, Belgium

Armenian gunmen assassinate Turkish Embassy Administrative Attaché, Dursun Aksoy, while in his automobile near his home in Brussels’ embassy section. ASALA and JCAG claim responsibility.

July 27, 1983 – Lisbon, Portugal

Five Armenian gunmen – “The Lisbon Five” – storm the Turkish Embassy in Lisbon, killing a Portuguese law enforcement officer and wounding another. A Turkish security officer kills one gunman -Vatche Daghlian. Unable to take the Embassy chancery building, the four remaining gunmen – Setrak Ajemian, Ara Kuhrjulian, Sarkis Abrahamian and Simon Yahniyan – occupy the Embassy residence building, where they take the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Yurtsev Mihcioglu, and his family hostage. As the four remaining gunmen plant explosives in the residence building, the wife of the DCM, Cahide Mihcioglu, sets off the bombs, killing the JCAG terrorists and sacrificing herself for her family. Her husband DCM Mihcioglu and son, Atasay, survive. JCAG claims responsibility for the attack, but blames Portuguese Prime Minister Mario Saores for the deaths of the Portuguese law enforcement officers and the five JCAG members.

July 31, 1980 – Athens, Greece

Armenian gunmen attack Turkish Embassy Administrative Attaché, Galip Ozmen, and his family as they wait in their automobile at a traffic light. Mr. Ozmen and his fourteen-year-old daughter, Neslihan Ozmen, are killed in the rain of automatic fire. His wife, Sevil Ozmen, and his sixteen-year-old son, Kaan Ozmen, are seriously wounded but survive. ASALA claims responsibility.

ATAA condemns these acts of violence against innocent individuals and remembers these tragedies with great sorrow and deliberation to bring the perpetrators and their supporters to justice.

Suggested Readings:

• Armenian Terrorism Report (CIA, FOIA act file)
• ATAA Armenian Terrorism Report