Qatar-Gulf crisis: All the latest updates

The latest news after three Gulf states and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air blockade.

The latest developments since several countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut ties with Qatar on June 5.

Senegal announced on Tuesday that it has reappointed its ambassador to Qatar who had been recalled on June 6 amid the Gulf crisis.

 

“Senegal has decided to send its ambassador to Doha back to Qatar,” tweeted Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi, Director of the Information Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Senegal.

 

Qatar’s official news agency QNA reported that the decision was made after a phone call between Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Senegal’s President Macky Sall.

 

The two leaders also discussed boosting relations in various fields and the recent developments in the Middle East, particularly, the Gulf crisis.

Qatar slams Saudi Arabia’s hajj flight restrictions

A strongly worded statement from Doha’s foreign ministry said it was surprised that Riyadh had decided to restrict the transport of Hajj pilgrims from Qatar only through Saudi Arabian Airlines. The hajj to Mecca, the most revered site in Islam, is a pilgrimage that Muslims must perform at least once.

 

“Limiting the transfer of Qatari pilgrims to Saudi Arabian Airlines only is unprecedented, illogical, surprising and contravenes the teachings of Islam,” said the statement from the ministry’s information office director, Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Rumaihi.

 

Earlier, Doha had denied a claim from Saudi Arabian Airlines accusing Qatari authorities of refusing to allow one of its flights to land at Hamad International Airport on Sunday.

Civil Aviation Authority denies Qatar refused to allow Saudi Airlines to fly Qatari pilgrims

An official source from Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has denied claims made by media outlets in the blockading nations that Qatar refused to allow Saudi Airlines to fly Qatari Hajj pilgrims.

 

The CAA received a request from Saudi Airlines in which they asked to carry Qatari pilgrims, and advised them to coordinate this request with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs through the Qatari Hajj Delegation, reported the Qatar News Agency.

 

The CAA stated their response was in accordance with procedures followed in the past.

Doha claims victory after Saudi-led group files complaint against Qatar human rights body

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has rejected a request by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and Egypt to get Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) downgraded, according to NHRC chairman Ali bin Samikh al-Marri.

 

Marri thanked GANHRI for supporting the work of the NHRC and urged civil society groups in the four countries to work with the committee to address the worsening humanitarian conditions imposed on GCC citizens due to the measures against Qatar.

Earlier in August, the four countries, which have cut ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air embargo against it, had submitted a complaint against NHRC to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a bid to have the committee removed from the “A” rating of the GANHRI list.

 

On Monday, several international human rights groups sent a letter to the UNHCR, asking them to reject the four countries’ request.

 

“As human rights organisations, we call upon your esteemed office to reject this complaint, we also hope that you will call on the four countries, through their permanent representatives at the UN headquarters in Geneva, to stop harassment  on human rights defenders, and work to upgrade their national bodies, so as to work efficiently to defend the human and his rights, in accordance with international standards in this regard, and to unite to promote human rights in the region especially and in the world in general,” said the letter.

Qatari FM decries ‘escalation’ by Saudi-led blockade nations

• “The four siege countries have not responded up to now,” said Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

• “Rather, we have seen continuing escalation and attempt to market the accusation that Qatar supports terrorism without providing any evidence, until they reached a stage of despair to buy a few seconds in the Western channels to publish their advertisements. Unfortunately, this is their constant behaviour since the beginning of the crisis.”

Qatar balks at calls to end military ties to Turkey

• Qatar’s ambassador to Ankara said calls by a Saudi-led block for Doha to cut defence ties with Turkey is an “obvious intervention of internal affairs”.

• “This is against all international law and norms,” said Salem bin Mubarak Al Shafi in a written statement on Saturday about the demand to close a Turkish base in the country.

• “The closure of this base and demanding that our defence relations with Turkey be interrupted would be an obvious intervention of our internal affairs, infringement of our sovereignty rights, and the assumption of tutelage over us.”

Condemnation after Al Arabiya depicts Saudi jet shooting down Qatar Airways plane

• Reaction was swift to the broadcasting by Al Arabiya TV of a graphic simulation showing a Saudi fighter jet shooting a missile at a Qatar Airways passenger aircraft.
• Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT, tweeted: “This is some outrageous stuff from Al Arabiya, threatening to shoot down a Qatar Airways passenger jet if in Saudi.”

• Aviation analyst Alex Macheras said on Twitter, “It’s shocking that a news channel would think it’s acceptable to create and illustrate a passenger airline aircraft being blown out of the sky.”

Bahrain’s opposition denies colluding with Qatar on coup

• Bahrain’s main opposition has denied media reports that accused Qatar of attempting to overthrow the island kingdom’s government.
• Al Wefaq, a banned Shia opposition group, said claims by Bahraini media that its leader Sheikh Ali Salman and Qatar’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, conspired to incite protests during a phone call in 2011 were “fabricated”.
• The telephone call was made as part of a mediation effort led by Qatar and backed by the United States, Al Wefaq said in a statement on Saturday.

Saudi TV Channel’s Qatar Airways Report terrorises travelers

• Qatar has filed a complaint before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), against what it calls attempts to “terrorise” travellers who are flying on its national flag carrier.
• In a letter sent to the Montreal-based United Nations agency on Saturday, Doha said the Saudi-led group that has imposed a blockade on Qatar has violated international law by broadcasting a news report showing the shooting down of a Qatar Airways passenger aircraft.