 Settled in the 1930s by Iraqi Assyrian refugees fleeing the Simele massacre in Iraq, who moved to French controlled Syria and settled in a 25 km stretch of the Khabur River in 35 settlements.An Assyrian exodus from the town began in November 2012, when Free Syrian Army soldiers threatened to invade the town.The exodus further continued when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (iSIL) took control of nearby roads just outside the town.