Arab countries sever Qatar ties
Doha accused of supporting extremism
Riyadh, June 5: Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives joined Saudi Arabia and Egypt in severing relations with gas-rich Qatar, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, “that aim to destabilise the region”.
Qatar reacted with fury, denying any support for extremists and accusing its Gulf neighbours of seeking to put the country under “guardianship”.
The crisis was likely to have wide-ranging consequences, not just for Qatar but around the Middle East and for Western interests.
Qatar hosts the largest US airbase in the region, which is crucial to operations against ISIS jihadists, and is set to host the 2022 football World Cup. Monday’s announcement came less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united front among Muslim countries against extremism.
It also followed weeks of rising tensions between Doha and its neighbours, including Qatari accusations of a concerted media campaign against it and the alleged hacking of the Qatar News Agency.
The Gulf states banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar and ordered Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days. Saudi Arabia also closed its borders with Qatar, blocking food and other supplies.
Riyadh, June 5: Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.
The Gulf states and Egypt said they were severing diplomatic ties and closing transport links with Qatar, which relies on imports from its neighbours.
Local media in Qatar reported there was already some panic buying as people stock up on food. The Qatar Stock Exchange tumbled eight per cent on opening and eventually closed down 7.58 per cent.
Riyadh said in a statement its measures were the result of “gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar”, accusing Doha of harbouring “terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda”.
Gulf states have for years accused Qatar of supporting extremist groups, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s oldest Islamist organisation.
Riyadh also accused Doha of supporting Iranbacked “terrorist activities” in Saudi Arabia’s Shiite-dominated area of Qatif, as well as in Bahrain, both of which have seen Shiite unrest in recent years.
Any suggestion that Qatar is backing the agenda of Shiite-dominated Iran — Sunni Saudi Arabia’s regional arch-rival — is especially sensitive, particularly in the wake of Donald Trump’s comments last month.
Qatar has consistently denied any support for extremists or Iran and did so again after Monday’s move.
Economic consequences were already emerging, with UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia, as well as Saudi Airlines, announcing the suspension of all flights to and from Qatar. Qatar Airways — one of the region’s busiest airlines — said it had suspended all flights to Saudi with immediate effect.