Zeleniche wedding massacre

The Zeleniche wedding massacre was the killing of 13 Bulgarians by Greek andartes on 13 November 1904 in the village of Zeleniche in the Florina region.

The tragedy followed the defeat of the band led by Pavlos Melas, a founder of the Greek armed movement, by Turkish troops on 13 October 1904. Greek andartes then decided to avenge Melas's death by attacking Bulgarians believed to have helped bring about his band's defeat.

On 13 November 1904, Second Lieutenant Georgios Katechakis (Captain Rouvas) assembled a band of 60 men and attacked Zeleniche. A Bulgarian wedding organised by the merchant Stefan Gatev was taking place in the village. Believing members of Bulgarian armed bands to be among the guests, the andartes attacked the house, where numerous relatives, friends and local Turks had gathered.

The attack began at about 22:30, when the andartes located the house and opened fire. Many of those present were killed, including the bridegroom, children and other wedding guests. The victims included the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO) activist Pando Mechkarov.

The wedding massacre remains an example of the violence and conflict that characterised the struggle for control of the region.