The Fatal Famine in Greater Syria

The region was swept by diseases several times after the allies brought in hundreds of thousands of colonial conscripts from india and other places. There is evidence that the ottoman empire and jamal pasha specifically imposed the famine on the area mount lebanon, very similarly to the way that joseph stollen would later do in ukraine. It was partly because they wanted a requisition all available food for the war, but also possibly to suppress any chance of arab nationalist uprisings. If you're interested, i encourage you to investigate it on your own.