"If it is necessary to apologise on behalf of the state... I will apologise, I am apologising," Erdogan told his Justice and Development Party (AKP) members in Ankara in televised remarks.

It was the first official apology for the air strikes and ground operations in the city of Dersim -- now named Tunceli -- that killed 13,800 people between 1936 and 1939, according to an official document of the time Erdogan cited in his speech.

The offensive took place under the rule of the current main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which was established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state.