Kessab, along with Musa Dagh, Belen, Atik, and the surrounding Armenian settlements, became part of the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta after the First World War. The Armenian population of the region was largely indigenous, having lived in these territories for centuries, while only small groups settled there following the depopulation of Cilicia in 1921–1922.

The Sanjak of Alexandretta retained a special administrative status, and under the 1921 Franco-Turkish Agreement, the Turkish population there was granted cultural and linguistic privileges. However, Kessab and the surrounding Armenian settlements continued to remain important witnesses to the historic Armenian presence in Cilicia.