Zilan massacre

The Zilan massacre refers to the killing of large numbers of Kurdish civilians by the Turkish Land Forces in the Zilan Valley of Van Province on 12–13 July 1930. The killings occurred during the broader Ararat rebellion, an armed Kurdish nationalist uprising centered on Mount Ararat in Ağrı Province. The operation in the Zilan Valley, north of the town of Erciş on Lake Van, was carried out by the IX Corps of the Turkish Third Army under the command of Ferik (Lieutenant General) Salih Omurtak. Reported death tolls vary widely, from 4,500 women and elderly people to figures as high as 15,000, the latter cited by the newspaper Cumhuriyet.

The background to the massacre includes the earlier Sheikh Said rebellion and subsequent Turkish government policies of forced relocation of Kurdish aristocrats and religious leaders, formalized through the 1927 "Law on the Transfer of Certain People from Eastern Regions to the Western Provinces." In 1927, the Kurdish nationalist organization Xoybûn was founded and later declared the Republic of Ararat, with Ihsan Nuri Pasha leading the insurgency. After failed negotiations, the Turkish cabinet, led by Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), authorized a military operation against Mount Ararat in a December 1929 decision, with General Staff orders in January 1930 directing forces to clear Kurdish villages and displace populations.

Armed conflict began in June 1930, and a Kurdish offensive—referred to by Turkish authorities as the Zeylan Rebellion—crossed from Persia and attacked gendarmerie positions. In response, the Turkish army deployed the VII and IX Corps along with 80 aircraft beginning 8 July 1930 in what was described as a "cleaning operation." Cumhuriyet correspondent Yusuf Mazhar reported by telephone on 12 July 1930 that the operation in the districts of Erciş, Mount Süphan, and Zeylân was complete. Cumhuriyet's 16 July 1930 edition reported approximately 15,000 rebels killed and described the Zilan River as filled with bodies as far as its mouth. Ibrahim Tali Öngören, the general inspector overseeing the region, stated on 15 July 1930 that the annihilation was carried out by troops with local assistance, and that villagers who had helped rebels were also killed. The British Foreign Office assessed that Turkish "successes" near Erciş and Zilan were achieved largely against non-combatants rather than armed fighters.

Surviving witnesses include Nazi Erol, who reported that her child and other women in her family were killed while she survived by hiding under corpses; an account relayed through Mehmet Pamak describing machine-gun killings of men, women, children, and the elderly, and the bayoneting of an infant and an elderly woman; and Kakil Erdem, who described the deaths of 35 relatives, including through bayoneting and beating.

The massacre later influenced Kurdish and Turkish literary and journalistic work, including writings by Musa Anter and novelist Yaşar Kemal. In 2007, journalists Ercan Öksüz and Oktay Candemir published an interview with elderly witness Kakil Erdem; both were subsequently tried and, in 2009, sentenced to 18 months in prison for "inciting hatred and hostility."