Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation

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The Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (ITRO, Bulgarian: Вътрешна тракийска революционна организация, Vatrešna trakijska revoljucionna organizacija, VTRO) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation active in Western Thrace, the eastern part of Greek Macedonia (to the Struma river) and southern Bulgaria between 1920 and 1934.^[1]

The reason for the establishment of ITRO was the deplorable situation of the

The desperate situation forced the Bulgarians to resort to armed struggle. 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. The organisation acted in co-operation with the representatives of the Muslims (Turks) in Western Thrace raising the slogan for the establishment of “independent Thrace” under the supervision of the League of Nations and "Thrace for the Thracians".

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. The organisation eventually gained full control of some districts along the Bulgarian border. In the summer of 1923, however, the Turks withdrew from the co-operation after the