Bones discovered in Arbo, Tur Abdin, belong to ancient church cemetery, not victims of the Sayfo Genocide

ARBO, Turkey — Recent reports regarding the discovery of human remains in the Syriac village of Arbo in Tur Abdin (Turkey) have caused unease among residents due to the inaccurate association with the massacres of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide. Following thorough verification of the claims, it has been confirmed that the bones and skulls unearthed under the Mar Dimet Church do not belong to victims of the Sayfo but rather to an ancient church cemetery.

On 7 April, SyriacPress published an article about the discovery of bones and skulls beneath Mar Dimet Church in Arbo. The article linked these remains to the Sayfo Genocide, which saw the mass killing and displacement of Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean), Armenian, and Greek Christians during World War I and stated that no official investigation had been done on these remains. However, according to accurate information received from the villagers, this connection is unfounded.

The residents clarified that the discovered remains are part of an old cemetery used by the church for Christian burials during earlier periods. They emphasized that during the time of the Sayfo Genocide, the villagers fled Arbo to escape persecution and violence, leaving the site largely abandoned. This reinforces the assertion that the remains uncovered beneath the church have no connection to the atrocities of 1915.