Zilan massacre
The Zilan massacre was the massacre of thousands of Kurdish civilians by the Turkish Land Forces in the Zilan Valley of Van Province on 12/13 July 1930, during the Ararat rebellion in Ağrı Province.
| Zilan massacre | |
|---|---|
Headline of the daily Cumhuriyet dated 13 July 1930: "Cleaning started, the ones at Zeylân valley were completely annihilated, None of them survived, operation at Ağrı are continuing. Ankara 12 (With telephone) ... According to latest information, the cleaning in districts of Erciş, Mount Süphan and Zeylân was completely finished ..." | |
| Location | Turkey |
| Date | 12–13 July 1930 |
| Target | Kurdish civilians |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 5,000–15,000 (according to Turkey) |
| Perpetrators | Turkish Armed Forces |
| Motive | Anti-Kurdish sentiment |
The massacre took place to the north of the town of Erciş on Lake Van. It was carried out by the IX Corps of the Third Army under the command of Ferik (Lieutenant General) Salih Omurtak. The number of people killed in the massacre ranges from 4,500 women and elderly to 15,000.