ABSTRACT
Shortly after the departure of the British soldiers, a French battalion of five hundred infantrymen came to Urfa, without artillery, planes, or wireless equipment. Their presence did not seem reassuring. The Turks had gladly accepted the offer of the French and gave their word of honor to give them a clear road to start out toward Jarablus (the ancient Carchemish) across the border. The local Turks were already prepared to participate in an uprising. When the French commander, Major Hauger, was informed and warned by the Armenians of the impending revolt, he did not want to listen. On February 9, 1920, the Turks gave the French an ultimatum to leave the city. The French refused. The Turks immediately began to attack under the direction of Namuk Pasha. Within a month Namuk Pasha, formerly Ali Saib, chief of gendarmes in Urfa and now a henchman of Mustafa Kemal Pasha, arrived in Urfa with his Nationalist soldiers.
