Harmanli massacre

Harmanli massacre refers to the massacre of Muslims in Harmanli by Russian troops in 1878,[1] during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The number of victims numbered at least 2,000.[2]

The Massacre

During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) the Muslim population of Bulgaria fled in panic before the advancing Russian army. On January 19, 1878, a column of 50,000[3] or 200,000,[4] Muslim refugees, consisting of an immense caravan with over 20,000 wagons,[5] were retreating from Plovdiv towards Harmanli when they were attacked by Russian troops. The column broke up and dispersed, the able-bodied portion of the immense caravan fled toward the mountains, the old, the sick and the very young who were left behind perished in the snow.[6]

Some 2,000 children drowned in the river. The old men who remained in the carts were massacred by the Russians. A group of Muslims were overtaken at Sarambey (present day Septemvri) by Russian troops who seized all of their possessions and carried off the young women.[7] The greater part of the caravan was also plundered by the Bulgarians of neighbouring villages, massacring the remaining refugees who were not strong enough to flee into the mountains.[8]

References

  1. ↑ The Congress of Berlin and after, William Norton Medlicott, page 157
  2. ↑ The Congress of Berlin and after, William Norton Medlicott, page 157
  3. ↑ The Congress of Berlin and after, William Norton Medlicott, page 157
  4. ↑ The Russian Army and Its Campaigns in Turkey in 1877-1878, F. V. Greene, page 360
  5. ↑ The Russian Army and Its Campaigns in Turkey in 1877-1878, F. V. Greene, page 360
  6. ↑ The Russian Army and Its Campaigns in Turkey in 1877-1878, F. V. Greene, page 360
  7. ↑ The Congress of Berlin and after, William Norton Medlicott, page 157
  8. ↑ The Russian Army and Its Campaigns in Turkey in 1877-1878, F. V. Greene, page 360

See also

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