Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation
In order to provide housing for the refugees, the Greek government interned tens of thousands of Bulgarians from Western Thrace on the Aegean Sea islands.
ITRO was formed under the leadership of Tane Nikolov - former band leader of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) and its detachments started to launch attacks on the Greek garrisons in the region.
At the end of 1922, the Greek government started to expel large numbers of Bulgarians into Bulgaria and the activity of ITRO grew into an open rebellion.
Although detachments of the ITRO continued to infiltrate Western Thrace sporadically, the main focus of the activity of the organisation now shifted to the protection of the refugees into Bulgaria.
As the activity of the organisation started to cause international problems for the Bulgarian government, ITRO was again formally disbanded in 1927, to be right away re-assembled under the name of Committee for Free Thrace (bulg.
Art. 1. The Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation has the goal of uniting all the disgruntled elements in Thrace to the river Struma, regardless of their nationality, to win, through a revolution, a full political independence. Art. 2. The organisation is against any attempts and wishes for divisions and conquests of Thrace, from each ever state.
