1915 genocide in Diyarbekir

[10] Syriac Orthodox Christians were concentrated in the hilly rural areas around Midyat, known as Tur Abdin, where they populated almost 100 villages and worked in agriculture or crafts.

[11] After August 1914, wartime requisitions proved an opportunity for implementing the CUP's national economy policy by conscripting economically active Armenians and confiscating property from them.

[12] On the night of 18/19 August 1914, the bazaar in Diyarbekir city was burned down by police chief Gevranlızâde Memduh Bey on the orders of Intibah Şirketi and Pirinççizâde Feyzi, ultimately orchestrated by the vali (governor) Mehmed Reshid.

[18] The situation worsened over the winter of 1914–1915 as the Saint Ephraim church was vandalized and four young men from the Assyrian village of Qarabash were hanged on charges of desertion.

Two were hanged in Diyarbekir city on 18 February, observed by Special Organization operative Ömer Naji [tr] and governor Hamid Bey.

Due to pressure from local CUP circles, Mustafa was rejected in favor of Reshid who assumed the position on 25 March.

[26] On 6 April, following Talat's order, Reshid replaced the moderate mayor of Diyarbekir with Pirinççizâde Sıdkı, an anti-Armenian radical, and completed the stuffing of all key positions in the city with CUP stalwarts.

[32] On 20 April, Armenians from all religious denominations and the Dashnak, Hnchak, and Ramgavar parties met to discuss a proposal for self-defense.

The resulting pictures were described by eyewitness Rafael de Nogales as "composed almost entirely of fowling-pieces easily disguised" with no other aim than to "impress the public".

In another case, Armenian deportees were massacred in Kozandere (an hour south of Diyarbekir) and dressed in turbans and Muslim clothing.

[37] Historian Uğur Ümit Üngör states that, in Diyarbekir, "most instances of massacre in which the militia engaged were directly ordered by" Reshid.

[41] No action was taken against Reshid for exterminating non-Armenian Christians, or even assassinating Ottoman officials who disagreed with the massacres, and in 1916 he was rewarded by appointment as governor of Ankara.

[28][41] Historian Raymond Kévorkian argues that the genocide of Assyrian Christians in Diyarbekir was likely ordered by the CUP Central Committee.