[7] However, according to a report by an international commission, organized by the Carnegie endowment, the massacre had been actually committed by local Turks armed by the Bulgarian army.

During the night of 28–29 September 1941, an insurrection against the Bulgarian occupation troops broke out in nearby Drama by the Communist party of Greece (KKE) and spread to the surrounding country.

The next day, Bulgarian forces rounded up all the men in town aged 14 and over, and after dividing them into groups of ten, executed them on the night of 29 September 1941.

After the revolt, a period of state terror began, involving arrests, house searches and physical violence against citizens.

[9] The Greek government has awarded the town the title of Hero and Martyr City (Ηρωική και Μαρτυρική Πόλη)[10] in recognition of the massacres it has suffered.