Assyrians, Kurds, and Ottomans: Intercommunal Relations on the Pe ...

The British ambassador sent a dispatch to the foreign secretary, Lord Palmerston, warning him of the projected massacre, based on the intelligence that he had received. Meanwhile the British high commissioner to Persia also received a report from Abbott, the consul at Tabreez, informing him that Bedr Khan Beg had once again invaded the country of the Assyrians. This time, the thrust of the invasion was directed against the district of Tekhoma, which was the most populous one left after the destruction of Tiyari. According to the early reports, after a fierce operation lasting four hours, the Kurdish forces had managed to disarm the people and seize their arms and had driven away all their flocks. Once again, it was reported that the Hakkari leader Noor Allah Beg had cooperated in the attack; however, Abbott stated that he did not know ‘the cause of renewed hostilities against the unfortunate mountaineers, whose cruel fate seems to recruit the interference of civilized governments in their behalf’.¹⁰

6. The Fate of the Captives

After massacring the hundreds of women and children who were on their way to the province of Chal, relying on the offer of its Kurdish agha, Zenal Beg then directed his attack against the district of Tekhoma, which is centred on one main valley containing all the villages of the district. Being outnumbered by the Kurds, who were well armed, the few fighters of Tekhoma could neither withstand the assault nor counter it; so after few hours, they were all rounded up. The Kurdish fighters then began a general slaughter, following their new instructions not to take any captives. All able-bodied fighters were killed except for a few who managed to escape to neighbouring Persia. The people’s possessions were thoroughly plundered, and then all houses were burnt, fields were destroyed, trees were chopped to small pieces, and the irrigation system was completely destroyed.¹¹