At least 6,000 Syrians are believed to have crossed into neighbouring Lebanon in the last few days to escape violence in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.
The area is a stronghold of Syria’s ousted former President, Bashar al-Assad, and hundreds of civilians have been killed there by the new government’s security forces.
BBC Beirut correspondent Carine Torbey is in Tal el Bireh – an Alawite border village in Lebanon where Syrians have found shelter.