As the forced sedentarization and deportations began, the authorities meticulously followed up to learn how well the policies were working, requesting information on whether those deported had assimilated into Turkish culture. Moreover, the largest Kurdish city Diyarbakır was declared a 'Turkification Region' and Kurds were deported from the area, as migrants from the Balkans were planned to be settled there.[8] Kurds deported from Diyarbakır were allowed only to return with a permission by the authorities.[9] In 1916, about 300,000 Kurds were deported from Bitlis, Erzurum, Palu and Muş to Konya and Gaziantep during the winter and most perished in a famine.[10]