Bitlis and Muş massacres
Mass killings of Armenians in Bitlis vilayet (Bitlis, Muş, Sasun, Genç) by Ottoman forces and Kurdish irregulars in summer 1915. The Muş plain Armenian population was massacred in place rather than deported; the Surb Karapet Monastery of Muş was destroyed; the Sasun mountain villages staged a doomed armed resistance.
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Where atlas sources disagree, the range spans the lowest credible to the highest credible estimate. Hover the inline citations above for source-by-source figures.
Account
The Bitlis vilayet operations of June-July 1915 differed from the Erzurum and Sivas pattern in being conducted largely as on-site killings rather than deportation marches, owing to the difficult terrain and to the proximity of the Russian-Ottoman front. Muş city was emptied and burned 25-29 June; the surrounding plain villages were cleared by the second week of July. The armed resistance at Sasun held out into mid-August. Hovannisian (ed.), Armenian Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush is the standard reference; primary documentation in the British Blue Book.