Monastery of the Cross

Dayro d’Slibo: Siege, Survival, and Slaughter

The Dayro d’Slibo monastery, whose name means "the monastery of the Cross," is one of the most well-known in Tur Abdin. It is located approximately two hours on foot north of Hah, on the slope of Mount Eloyo, halfway between Zaz and Kfar-Boran. While it once served as the residence of a bishop of Hah and contained hundreds of rooms and a good water well, it was no longer a bishop's residence at the time of the Sayfo massacres. A village with 70 Syriac Orthodox families was also situated near the monastery. When news of the massacres arrived, the villagers from around the monastery moved into the monastery with their valuables and food supplies. The monastery and nearby village became surrounded by local Kurdish tribes, including the Chelik clan of the Ali Rammo tribe led by Mustafa, the Sa’irt, the Beth-Shiroye, and the Rama, as well as some Ottoman troops and they were estimated to be a total of 15,000 men.

In the first assault against the monastery, 30 Syriacs were killed, but the Kurds were unable to breach the walls. Several other assaults using ladders were also repelled by the Syriacs, resulting in significant losses for the aggressors.

One of the Kurdish leaders, Mustafa of the Ali Rammo tribe, eventually withdrew his forces, claiming he had witnessed "miraculous visions" emerging from the monastery and was frightened. After the Rammo clan left, the other Kurdish tribes also departed. The battle for the monastery had lasted three months. After the Kurds withdrew, Shaykh Fathullah of ‘Ayn-Kif, along with people from ‘Ayn-Wardo, arrived and convinced the Turkish troops, who had remained, to also leave the area. The Turkish officer, a major, initially refused to leave until the defenders surrendered their weapons, which they declined to do, prompting the major to prepare for a new assault. However, Shaykh Fathullah contacted the provincial government in Diyarbekir and complained about the major. As a result, the major was ordered to obey the Shaykh and withdraw his troops, which he then did.

Despite the withdrawal of the main forces, the Syriacs in Dayro d’Slibo continued to live in fear of new attacks for the remainder of the war. They did not dare leaving the village even to tend their fields, as those who did were often killed or never returned. The government stationed 40 soldiers to protect the villagers from Kurdish attacks, guarding them when they worked in fields or went to other villages for food. However, these soldiers were negligent; on one occasion, they informed some Kurds of a planned trip, leading to an ambush where 7 Syriac men were murdered, though the women were spared. Upon hearing of this, the villagers of Dayro d’Slibo expelled the soldiers.

After a period where conditions seemed to normalize, a local Kurd named Ali Sagfan of Harmes gathered neighboring tribesmen and attacked the village at night, successfully occupying the monastery complex. While a few villagers managed to escape, those remaining in the village were forced to the square and burned alive in a large fire. Only 30 people survived because they were outside the village at the time of the assault.