Those Armenians who survived during the genocide in 1915-1916 were driven onwards in two directions: either towards Damascus, or along the Euphrates to Deir ez-Zor. During the early period of massacres, 30,000 Armenians were encamped in various camps outside the town of Deir ez-Zor. They were under the protection of the Arab governor Ali Suad Bey until the Ottoman authorities decided to replace him with Salih Zeki Bey, who was known for his cruelty and barbarity.[3][4] When the refugees, including women and children, reached Deir ez-Zor, they cooked grass, ate dead birds,[5] and although there was a cave near the Deir ez-Zor for prisoners to store until they starved, no "camp" seems ever to have been planned for the Armenians.[6]