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As new Syrian exodus unfolds, some fear they will never go home

Kurdish doctor Farid Mustafa was one of the last to flee Ras al-Ain as Turkish bombs rained down on the Syrian border town.
He fears he may never return home.
He escaped on Thursday night with his wife and two small children as warplanes flew in the sky above a line of cars trying to get away from the border. A few people stayed behind to defend their homes.
“We were scared of the plane, not anything else,” he told Reuters. “Also my kids, I swear we’re not even worried about ourselves, but the kids. They were crying.”
Some 100,000 people have fled their homes since Turkey mounted its offensive in northeast Syria on Wednesday, moving away from the border and deeper into the region - which the Kurdish YPG militia and its allies control.
The exodus is the latest in Syria’s war that has already uprooted more than half of the population - some 11 million people - through years of multi-sided warfare which shattered the country.
Mustafa, with some 30 family members, is now staying at a relative’s house in the city of Hasaka, where many residents have opened up their homes.
He fears his Kurdish ethnicity would make him a target if his town of Ras al-Ain falls to Turkish forces and their Syrian allies, enemies of the YPG.
“I’m not worried about my house, let it be destroyed,” he said. “But what if my town is gone, what will I do?” he said.

Ankara brands the YPG a security threat because of links to the Kurdish PKK which has waged a long insurgency inside Turkey.
Turkey’s offensive, its third into northern Syria, kicked off after a withdrawal from part of the border of US forces, whose presence had until then deterred such an attack.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the YPG spearheads, decried the US move as betrayal after they fought alongside each other to crush ISIS across much of Syria.
Still, US forces have not all gone. Dozens of Syrians fled towards one of the US bases outside the mainly Kurdish town of Kobani after it was shelled, some taking their cattle with them, a witness and a local official said.
Kobani was the birthplace of the US-YPG military alliance some five years ago, when Washington intervened with air strikes to help Kurdish fighters turn the tide against ISIS.
Kurdish leaders see their region as a relatively stable part of Syria that has enjoyed autonomy for years, shielded from Turkey and the Damascus government by the presence of US forces.
Having lost fighters in the war against ISIS and played a critical role in helping to defeat the extremists, long-persecuted Syrian Kurds had hoped to shore up their autonomy within a reformed Syrian state.
That now looks in jeopardy. The Turkish offensive deals yet another blow to an ethnic group left stateless when the Ottoman Empire collapsed a century ago and the Kurds were scattered between Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he wants to settle up to two million Syrian refugees, many of them Sunni Arabs, into the region targeted in the operation dubbed “Peace Spring.”
Sleeping in the streets
The road to Hasaka was choked by traffic earlier this week as people fled Ras al-Ain.
The city is now crammed with people, and authorities do not have enough water tankers, food, or shelter for the influx, said Khaled Ibrahim, a Kurdish official who oversees aid efforts in the northeast.
“I saw people who could not make it to Hasaka, sleeping in the streets, on the pavement, in the public gardens,” Ibrahim said.
The ethnically mixed northeast region is home to some 1.5-2 million people, many of them uprooted from other parts of Syria.
Semira Haj Ali, the head of the education board in the region, said teaching had stopped so that schools could provide shelter.
“We opened schools in Hasaka, and even wedding halls, anywhere there’s room, to shelter the displaced families. We are expecting more to come,” she said.

Most of the people fleeing so far have come from the border towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain, the current focal point of the Turkish assault.
But people have been on the move elsewhere too.
Hemrin Mahmoud and her sister, both pregnant, fled their homes right on the border in Qamishli to safer parts of the city, along with their six children.
“Naturally, our husbands stayed in their homes to take up arms. What else are we going to do?”
“There was the sound of bullets, my children were afraid, crying, I got them out of the house,” said Mahmoud, 35.
They are sheltering at the home of another sister.
Walid Mamo, their brother-in-law, said he had stocked up on supplies. “I bought 3,000 lira worth of bread today - 100 loaves. I’ve put them in the freezer,” he said.
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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