When Turkey conducted ethnic cleansing against its Christian populations, Kurds were responsible for most of the atrocities against Assyrians.[9][10] At the onset of the 20th century, Kurds cooperated with Ottoman authorities in the massacres against Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia.[11] Many Assyrians from Hakkari settled in Syria after they were displaced and driven out by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century.[12] During the 1930s and 1940s, many Assyrians resettled in northeastern Syrian villages, such as Tel Tamer, Al-Qahtaniyah, Al Darbasiyah, Al-Malikiyah, Qamishli and a few other small towns in Al-Hasakah Governorate.[13]