When the Ottoman Empire conducted ethnic cleansing against its Christian populations, Kurds were responsible for most of the atrocities against Assyrians. At the onset of the 20th century, Kurdish tribes cooperated with the Ottoman authorities in the genocides against Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia. Many Assyrians from Hakkari settled in Syria after they were displaced and driven out by Ottoman Turks in the early 20th century. 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.