Syrian Alawite refugees in the courtyard of the Talbireh municipality in Northern Lebanon, at the Syrian border, on March 10, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
More than 7,000 people who fled Syria’s coastal region — where fighting between loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad and the new authorities have left hundreds dead — have settled in the Akkar governorate, according to official figures published on Monday.
A report by the Disaster and Crisis Management Chamber, chaired by Akkar Governor Imad Labaki, states that 7,616 people — 1,777 families, the majority of whom belong to the Alawite community — have arrived in Akkar. They are spread across fifteen villages in the governorate. Some of these refugees are Lebanese who had previously settled in Syria. They crossed the Nahr al-Kabir on foot, a river that serves as a border demarcation between Lebanon and Syria in certain areas, as reported by our journalists on the ground, Lyana Alameddine and Matthieu Karam.
Earlier in the day, the head of the municipal council of Tal al-Bireh, Abdelhamid Sakr, told our North Lebanon correspondent, Michel Hallak, that 10,000 people had sought refuge in Akkar, including 2,000 in his locality alone. He described the situation as a "tragedy." According to official figures, 1,555 people have taken refuge in Tal al-Bireh, the town hosting the largest number of displaced individuals, followed closely by Massoudiyeh, which has taken in 1,500.
‘They ordered us to leave’
In Tal al-Bireh, Amira, 23, arrived around 10 a.m. with her husband, their four-month-old baby, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, cousin, and about fifteen other family members. Originally from Hama, they had been living in the suburbs of Tartous, a coastal Syrian city about 60 kilometers north of Tripoli, since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Dec. 8. "I’m exhausted," Amira says. "We crossed the river. Others were also attempting to cross. Once we reached the Lebanese side, a man came to get us."
"We thought we were safe in Tartous. Everyone said the coast was secure. But Ahmad al-Sharaa’s men came to the building where we were staying, which belonged to my employer," explains Amira, who describes herself as an agricultural worker. She recounts to our journalist, Lyana Alameddine, how armed individuals entered the building. "They searched every apartment, including ours. They were looking for weapons but found none. They stole everything. They held a knife to the throats of the owner’s two sons, but they didn’t kill anyone. Then they ordered us to leave," she says.
According to the mayor of Tal al-Bireh, most of the refugees, like Amira and her family, have found shelter in villages and towns with predominantly Alawite populations — the same communities that have suffered massacres on the Syrian coast since Thursday. Thirteen villages and towns have opened their doors to Syrian men, women, and children fleeing the violence. They are being housed in rooms adjacent to mosques or in municipal buildings.
Aid distributions to begin Tuesday
Akkar Governor Imad Labaki and the Lebanese Red Cross are mobilized to provide essential care for the refugees, according to Tal al-Bireh’s local official. Labaki has reactivated the governorate’s disaster management unit. Aid distributions — including mattresses, blankets, hygiene products, and food — are set to begin on Tuesday, Sakr said, adding that international organizations are also providing support.
Regarding concerns over potential security tensions in the region, Labaki told the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) that "the situation is stable until further notice." "There is no danger because, as we have learned from the mayors, the majority of those displaced fled out of fear for their lives," he added.
