On that day hundreds of Armenian religious. political. and intellectual leaders were rounded up. exiled. and eventually murdered in remote places in Anatolia. Within several months. the approximately 250.000 Armenians serving in the Ottoman Army during the war were disarmed and placed in forced labor battalions where they were either starved to death or executed. The Armenian people. deprived of their leadership and young ablebodied men. were disarmed under threat of severe punishment. and then deported from cities. towns. and villages throughout Asia and Turkey. The majority of the deportees died on the marches from starvation. disease. and massacre. The Turkish Government provided no food or means of transportation. forcing most of the Armenians to travel on foot. where they were prey to bands of criminals. In addition to those who died in the genocide and deportations. approximately 500.000 refugees escaped to the north across the Russian border. south into Arab countries. or to Europe and the United States. Thus. the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire was virtually eliminated as the result of a carefully executed plan by the Turkish rulers. The end of the First World War brought only a relief respite for the beleagured Armenians.
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deported deportations deportees refugees