The displaced Syrians from the Alawite coastal towns continue to flow into the villages of Akkar, in north Lebanon, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. The Disaster Management Center of this region, chaired by Governor Imad Labaki, counted more than a thousand new displaced persons who arrived in the last few hours, after crossing the Nahr al-Kabir river, the natural border between Syria and Lebanon. According to this chamber, the number of displaced persons now reaches 10,678, or 2,307 families, spread across 22 villages in Akkar.

Since March 6, thousands of Syrians illegally crossed the Lebanese-Syrian border to seek refuge in Akkar, fleeing the massacres in western Syria perpetrated by militiamen linked to the new Syrian authorities, including the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. This resurgence of violence has resulted in more than a thousand civilian casualties, mostly Alawites, indicated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Despite the relative calm of recent days, the residents seem not to trust the new Syrian authorities. According to witnesses cited by L'Orient Today's correspondent, the Syrian security forces are trying to dissuade the escapees and convince them to return to their villages, arguing that calm has returned, but they insist on seeking shelter in Lebanon, even temporarily.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Red Cross is distributing the available aid, primarily food boxes provided by the World Food Program (WFP), as well as mattresses. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is providing them with blankets.

The residents of Akkar expressed their concern about this new influx of refugees, given the lack of sufficient aid and a clear government plan regarding this new crisis. They also questioned what role the U.N. High Commissioner would play in this matter.