Latest developments: What we know so far
- The UAE has given Qatar’s diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi 48 hours to leave the country after what it said where “Doha’s several policies which destabilizes the security and stability of the region and manipulates commitments”.
- The UAE informed Qatari citizens they had 14 days to leave the UAE. Citizens from Qatar have also been banned from passing through the UAE.
- Emiratis are now banned from visiting or even passing by Qatar at all means.
- The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with Qatar and largely isolating it. It cited officials as saying it was to “protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.
- Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from 02:45 local time on Tuesday
- Bahrain’s state news agency said the country was cutting ties with Qatar because Doha was “shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs”.
- Saudi Arabia said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Al Houthi militia in Yemen.
3.48am
Qatar behaviour ‘worrisome’: US
The United States does not want to see a ‘permanent rift’ between Gulf countries, a senior US administration official said on Monday.
Still, the official said: “There’s an acknowledgement that a lot of Qatari behaviour is quite worrisome not just to our Gulf neighbours but to the U.S.
“We want to bring them in the right direction.”
12.42am, Tuesday June 6
‘My phone has not stopped ringing’
Anxious Egyptians flooded their community leaders in Qatar with calls on Monday after learning that Cairo had cut ties with the wealthy Gulf state where they have made their home.
“My phone has not stopped ringing since 4am,” Mohammad Al Iraqi, the head of the Egyptian community in Qatar, told Reuters by telephone from Doha.
“Egyptians are scared. They have jobs and a stable life here with their families. There is a state of panic,” he said, speaking shortly after the diplomatic break was announced in the small hours of Monday morning.
Foreign workers make up around 1.6 million of Qatar’s 2.5 million population, and according to Al Iraqi about 350,000 of them are Egyptians, making them one of the biggest foreign contingents in the Gulf country.
7.50pm
Ensure safety of Indians in Qatar: Kerala CM to Modi
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday sought the Centre’s intervention to ensure safety of 6.5 lakh Indians, including Keralites, residing in Qatar following recent developments in the Middle East, reports PTI.
In letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Vijayan said he was writing the letter in the context of the developing geo-political situation in the Middle East on Monday.
Vijayan also wanted the Indian Embassy in Doha to be “suitably empowered” to respond presciently to the concerns of the Indian community in the country.
7.15pm
Saudi shuts Al Jazeera office
Saudi Arabia on Monday shut the local office of Qatar’s Al-Jazeera global news channel after the kingdom and other Gulf states severed ties with the emirate.
“The Ministry of Information closed the office of the Al-Jazeera channel and withdrew the licence it was granted,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
5.50pm
UAE, Saudi Arabia halt white sugar exports to Qatar
LONDON/ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have stopped exports of white sugar to Qatar after the two states broke off relations with Doha, in the first sign that the diplomatic crisis is hitting food trade, trade sources said on Monday, reports Reuters.
Qatar is dependent on the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its white sugar imports, which are estimated at less than 100,000 tonnes annually.
5.30pm
Egypt to ban flights to and from Qatar as of Tuesday
Egypt will begin its ban on flights to and from Qatar on Tuesday at 6 am local time (0400 GMT), the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Monday following a severing of diplomatic ties announced earlier.
Egyptian airspace will also be closed off to all flights originating from Qatar, the ministry said in a statement “The ministry has issued a decision to halt all flights between Egypt and Qatar and to close off Egyptian airspace to Qatari aircrafts that seek to land or pass through,” the ministry said.
4.40pm
Qataris still able to visit KSA for Haj
Qatari pilgrims will be able to visit Saudi Arabia for Haj and Umrah despite the cut in diplomatic relations.
The Saudi Press Agency on Monday confirmed that Saudi Arabia is committed to providing all facilities and services to Qatari pilgrims.
4.25pm
Egypt gives Qatari amabassador 48 hours to leave
Egypt’s foreign ministry sayid it has given the Qatari ambassador in Cairo 48 hours to leave the country and ordered its own envoy in Doha to return home, also within two days.
An earlier statement by the Egyptian ministry said Egypt was also suspending air and sea links to Qatar and, citing national security, closing its airspace to Qatari aircraft.
4.15pm
Maldives severs ties with Qatar
COLOMBO: The Maldives said on Monday it was severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, following a move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who accused the Gulf state of supporting terrorism, reports Reuters.
“The Maldives took the decision because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism,” the government of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation said in a statement.
3.00
Saudi Arabian Airlines latest to suspend all flights to Qatar
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has suspended all flights to Qatar, it said on its official Twitter account on Monday, without providing further details.
Other airlines including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia have also announced similar moves, while Qatar Airways has suspended flights to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut their ties with Qatar on Monday.
2.46
Saudi Arabia bans all Qatari planes from its airports
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on Monday it has banned all Qatari planes from landing in the kingdom’s airports.
A statement from the aviation body said the decision was effective immediately and involves all the Qatari private and commercial airplanes which will be banned from crossing the Saudi airspace.
GACA also said all Saudi commercial and private air operators shall be banned from operating to Qatar.
1.01
Qatar Airways suspends all flights to Saudi Arabia
Qatar Airways said on its official website on Monday that it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.
12:43
Air Arabia suspends flights between Sharjah and Doha
Air Arabia said on Monday it had suspended flights between Sharjah and Doha effective Tuesday until further notice.
The airline’s last outbound flight from Sharjah to Doha will depart at 18:30 local time on Monday, while the last inbound flight from Doha to Sharjah will depart on Monday at 19:25 local time.
Passengers who hold existing reservations on Air Arabia flights to Doha after June 5 will be provided with the option of a full refund or booked to other destinations, it said.
The move came after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism.
12:32
Emirate, Etihad and flydubai suspend Doha flights
Emirates airline to suspend all flights to Qatar beginning Tuesday until further notice; last flight from Dubai to Doha will depart at 2.30am on Tuesday.
10:47
Decision will not affect fight against terrorism: US
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis meanwhile said they did not expect the decision to affect the fight against terrorism but urged the countries to address their differences. “I do not expect that this will have any significant impact … on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally,” Tillerson told reporters in Sydney.
10:44
UAE supports statements of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on Qatar
Abu Dhabi (WAM): The United Arab Emirates has issued the following statement:
“The UAE affirms its complete commitment and support to the Gulf Cooperation Council and to the security and stability of the GCC States. Within this framework, and based on the insistence of the State of Qatar to continue to undermine the security and stability of the region and its failure to honour international commitments and agreements, it has been decided to take the following measures that are necessary for safeguarding the interests of the GCC States in general and those of the brotherly Qatari people in particular:
1-In support of the statements issued by the sisterly Kingdom of Bahrain and sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates severs all relations with the State of Qatar, including breaking off diplomatic relations, and gives Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the UAE.
2-Preventing Qatari nationals from entering the UAE or crossing its points of entry, giving Qatari residents and visitors in the UAE 14 days to leave the country for precautionary security reasons. The UAE nationals are likewise banned from traveling to or staying in Qatar or transiting through its territories.
3-Closure of UAE airspace and seaports for all Qataris in 24 hours and banning all Qatari means of transportation, coming to or leaving the UAE, from crossing, entering or leaving the UAE territories, and taking all legal measures in collaboration with friendly countries and international companies with regards to Qataris using the UAE airspace and territorial waters, from and to Qatar, for national security considerations.
The UAE is taking these decisive measures as a result of the Qatari authorities’ failure to abide by the Riyadh Agreement on returning GCC diplomats to Doha and its Complementary Arrangement in 2014, and Qatar’s continued support, funding and hosting of terror groups, primarily Islamic Brotherhood, and its sustained endeavours to promote the ideologies of Daesh and Al Qaeda across its direct and indirect media in addition to Qatar’s violation of the statement issued at the US-Islamic Summit in Riyadh on May 21st, 2017 on countering terrorism in the region and considering Iran a state sponsor of terrorism. The UAE measures are taken as well based on Qatari authorities’ hosting of terrorist elements and meddling in the affairs of other countries as well as their support of terror groups policies which are likely to push the region into a stage of unpredictable consequences.
While regretting the policies taken by the State of Qatar that sow seeds of sedition and discord among the region’s countries, the UAE affirms its full respect and appreciation for the brotherly Qatari people on account of the profound historical, religious and fraternal ties and kin relations binding UAE and Qatari people.”
10:16
Qatar regrets decision made by Saudi, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt
In a statement issued by the Qatari foreign ministry, the country said it regretted the decision by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain to cut diplomatic relations, according to Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV. It also claimed that the decisions would “not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents”.
10:01
Four Arab states cut diplomatic ties with Qatar
Dubai: Four Arab states have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, while Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen.
Qatar cannot ignore its GCC responsibility
The UAE has given Qatar’s diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi 48 hours to leave the country after what it said where “Doha’s several policies which destabilizes the security and stability of the region and manipulates commitments”.
Rising Middle East tensions push up oil prices
The UAE informed Qatari citizens they had 14 days to leave the UAE, while citizens from Qatar have also been banned from passing through the UAE. Emiratis are now banned from visiting or even passing by Qatar through all means.
All four states said they planned to cut air and sea traffic, while Saudi Arabia said it also would shut its land border with Qatar.
Deal with Qatar once and for all – analysts
Saudi Arabia said it took the decision to cut diplomatic ties due to Qatar’s “embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region” including the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaida, Daesh and groups supported by Iran in the kingdom’s eastern province of Qatif.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an “antagonist approach” toward Egypt and said “all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed.”
Etihad Airways suspends flights to, from Doha
Bahrain blamed Qatar’s “media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain” for its decision.
Source : Gulf News
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