After 1921, the population increased rapidly as the copper mines began to be operated again by the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC). The population was 1781 in 1931 and 3666 (2685 Turkish Cypriots and 981 Greek Cypriots) in 1946. Due to the Cypriot intercommunal violence, most of the Greek Cypriot population of the town fled in the late 1950s. The town became a Turkish Cypriot enclave following the Bloody Christmas of 1963-64, and it saw an influx of Turkish Cypriot refugees from nearby villages, which they were forced to leave. The population has increased from 3674 (3586 Turkish Cypriots, 88 Greek Cypriots) in 1960 to a purely Turkish Cypriot 4544 in 1973.