Erdogan boosts forces in Qatar

TURKEY/QATAR: Turkey is preparing to send up to a thousand troops to Qatar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly criticised four Arab powers who are demanding that the tiny Gulf state cede to their demands before they lift a blockade.

Sending reinforcements will increase tensions because the closure of Turkey’s military base was one of 13 demands set as the price of lifting an embargo imposed by Qatar’s neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, three weeks ago.

Riyadh has accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and fostering links with its regional rival Iran. Saudi Arabia, which has itself been accused of supporting terrorism, has become a target for extremists in recent years, with Islamic State calling for attacks on the kingdom.

The authorities foiled an attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca, one of the holiest sites in the Muslim world, on Sunday.

The Arab powers’ demands include the closure of the Al Jazeera news channel and the cutting of contacts with Iran and Muslim Brotherhood groups.

Qatar says that the demands are neither reasonable nor feasible, a position Erdogan backed yesterday in his most clearcut statement of support for the Gulf kingdom since the crisis began.

‘‘We welcome [Qatar’s position] because we consider the 13-point list against international law,’’ Erdogan said after prayers for the start of the Islamic festival of Eid. ‘‘It is a very ugly approach ... and we will strive to give support to Qatar.’’

His criticisms were aimed at Saudi Arabi, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

Washington has backed Saudi Arabia in the dispute and President Donald Trump accused Qatar of supporting terrorists.yester, however, Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, urged restraint saying that the conditions demanded, which include a deadline that expires next Monday, would be difficult to meet. ’’A lowering of rhetoric would also help ease the tension,’’ Tillerson said.

The alliance between Turkey and Qatar dates from the start of the Arab Spring. Both support factions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and opposed to the Middle East’s old secular, militaristic dictatorships. The main political opposition in Syria, which is dominated by figures linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, was founded in Doha in 2012. It has since been based in a five-star hotel in Istanbul, with Qatar picking up the bill. - The Times