Sayfo; Village of Charukhiye 

Village of Charukhiye

The village of Charukhiye, identified across various sources and languages as Tjarugiye, Tcharokia, and Djarokhié, is located south of Diyarbakir along the banks of the Tigris River. The village was historically a mixed community inhabited by both Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean Christian families, and administrative records group the site within the immediate environs of the Diyarbakir provincial center.

During the Sayfo genocide from 1914 to 1924, Charukhiye was subjected to systematic violence and ethnic cleansing. On June 2, 1915, a detachment of the Al Khamsin militia, consisting of 50 Kurdish irregular fighters, arrived from Diyarbakir to target the Christian inhabitants. The unit operated under the direct command of Yahya Effendi, who is documented as a local tyrant and perpetrator of atrocities against the Chaldean and Syriac residents. The militia forces surrounded the settlement to block escape and entered the village to round up the male population. The forces seized thirty-five men, who comprised the entire male population present in the village at that time. These individuals were bound with ropes and removed under the pretext of being assigned to road construction projects. Upon reaching the neighboring village of Gulla, the Al Khamsin soldiers subjected the prisoners to an execution method intended to determine if a single bullet could penetrate and kill five men standing in a row. All thirty-five men from Charukhiye were killed during this action.

The perpetrators of the violence in Charukhiye included the Al Khamsin militia and specific individuals identified in post-war testimonies. Alongside Yahya Effendi, a figure named Emin Agha is documented as a primary oppressor and tyrant of Charukhiye. Following the massacre of the men, the surviving women and children were forced to abandon their homes and the settlement.