Midsummer, 1918, saw the arrival in the occupied territory of Mesopotamia of some 45000 Armenians and Assyrians from Asia Minor, Lake Van, and Urmia. The majority of these refugees are Christians, who for many years had been fighting against the oppression to which they were subjected by the Turkish and Persian Governments. In the great war these small nationalities saw an opportunity of freeing themselves from the Turkish yoke, and did their utmost to aid Russia in her campaign on the Caucasus and on the Persian fronts. Both Assyrians and Armenians, especially the Turkish Armenians, suffered cruel hardships during the war, and time after time were in imminent danger of total extermination. The Russians would occupy a certain area, retreat suddenly, leaving their unfortunate allies to the mercy of the vindictive Turks, who looked on them as renegades, traitors, and, above all, Christians...

-- The London Times, 24 April 1920