The ride sharing application has been operating in Doha since 2013.

Uber’s Middle Eastern subsidiary Careem will stop operating in Qatar starting Tuesday, the company said in a message to customers in the Gulf state.

The unexpected announcement on Monday comes two months after the World Cup in Qatar, when cars with the Careem branding, along with those from Uber and the local taxi company Karwa, were part of the tournament’s official plans to transport visiting fans.

“Unfortunately, Careem’s ride hailing operations will no longer operate in Qatar as of February 28, 2023,” the message said.

It noted customers with Careem credit would receive a complete refund by March 15.

However, the company failed to provide a reason for the sudden decision.

In contrast to larger Middle Eastern markets like the United Arab Emirates, where the company offers a more comprehensive slate of services on its application, including food delivery, digital payments, and courier services, Careem only provided ride-hailing services in Qatar.

The Dubai-based rideshare app offered inter-country taxi journeys for the 2022 World Cup.

Although the offer didn’t extend to all nations neighbouring Qatar, it was open to visitors coming from two locations in neighbouring Saudi Arabia: Al Ahsa City, which is about 160 miles (250 kilometres) from Doha and can be reached in about 3 hours by car, and Dammam, which is 250 miles (402 kilometres) away and accessible by car in about 4.5 hours.

There was a cap on the number of passengers per taxi at three, and the fare was a fixed $266 each way (1000 QAR), or $532 round-trip.

Uber Technologies Inc. acquired Careem in 2019 for $3.1 billion, giving the American company market dominance throughout the Middle East and Pakistan.

The Uber mobile application is still in full operation and provides ride-hailing services in Qatar.