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A plot of land in Turkey’s southeastern Mardin province containing Assyrian and Armenian graves has been transformed into a park, Ahval Turkish news outlet reported, citing left-wing news site Duvar.

The newly-landscaped park in Mardin’s town of Dargeçit, part of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) ‘’nation parks’’ project, hosts a recreational facility and a wedding hall, Duvar said.

The project in the neighbourhood known to locals as  “Tirbik,’’ had been launched by the town’s state-appointed official in 2016, despite repeated warnings from residents on the sanctity of the land.

The Turkish interior ministry in March of 2016 replaced the mayor of Dargecit with a state-appointed official.

"It is neither ethical nor conscientious to build a recreational centre and park atop a cemetery,’’ Duvar quoted Dargecit resident Abdulmesih Ergun as saying.

"This was once a Christian cemetery. There were once Assyrians and Armenians here,’’ Ergun said.

In the beginning of the 20th century Mardin was home to over 12,000 Assyrians and over 7,500 Armenians.