The Armenian Genocide beginning in 1915 proved even more destructive . The command of the genocide initiation arrived in Kessab on the 26th of July to start deportations within 5 days . First , the people expressed a desire to resist and fortify on the mountain Dounag located in Karadouran . Priest Bedros Papoujian-Aprahamian , the priest of Karadouran , particularly supported the idea of the opposition , but on the real ground , the whole idea failed to become a reality . The genocide of the Armenians in Kessab region started from Karadouran . The Armenians were deported in two directions : one towards the desert of Deir ez-Zor and the other towards the south to the desert of Jordan . Almost five thousand Armenians were killed during this deportation process . Some died in Jisr al-Shughur , some in Hama or Homs while others on the way to Damascus or Jordan . The majority of the refugees were killed in the desert of Deir ez-Zor . After the ceasefire , the Armenians who survived the genocide returned to Kessab in a process that lasted till 1920 . But the eastern and northern areas of the region remained unsecured , because they were constantly vulnerable to attacks from neighboring Turkish villages . A voluntary group of 40 men successfully foiled many attempts by bandits to invade the region at that time . In 1922 , peace was established after the entrance of French troops into Kessab
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Kessab