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Why was Qatar accused of supporting terrorists?

2022-11-18T21:59:33.278Z


Qatar has been accused of having links to terrorist groups, and in 2017 suffered a boycott by its neighbors. What does Doha say about it?


Qatar responds with rejection to Hummel's protest 0:51

(CNN Spanish) --

In 2017 a group of Persian Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, which they accused of supporting terrorism.

Qatar said at the time that the accusations were "unjustified" and that it played clear roles in the fight against terrorism, but the crisis raised tensions in the region.

  • New controversy: Qatar responds to Hummel protest

Three and a half years later, in January 2021, Qatar and the Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia – the list is completed by Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Egypt – agreed to restore diplomatic relations.

Little is known about the content of the agreement.

Despite the reestablishment of relations, it was not the first time that Qatar has been accused of maintaining links with terrorist groups, but it was the most important crisis caused by this fact.

The Taliban's position on terrorism 1:24

Why is Qatar being accused of supporting terrorism?

During the 2017 crisis, Bahrain said the decision was based on what it called Qatar's "destabilizing actions", including "interference in its affairs", "support for armed terrorist activities" and "funding of associated groups". with Iran".

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The break in diplomatic relations coincided with the greater participation of the then president of the United States, Donald Trump, in the region, and especially a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia.

Following news of the boycott, Trump even tweeted that he hoped Qatar's isolation could hasten "the beginning of the end of the horror of terrorism," without referring to the fact that Doha and Washington are defense allies and that the United States has its greatest military base in Qatar.

The demands of the group led by Saudi Arabia were not only limited in 2017 to the alleged support for terrorist groups.

They also demanded to close the Qatari network Al Jazeera, end Turkey's military presence in Qatar and stop relations with Iran, among other points.

US President Donald Trump and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, on May 21, 2017. (Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement, Egypt further said that Qatar had taken an "anti-Egyptian course" and had been unable to dissuade it from supporting terrorism.

In the past, Cairo has specifically accused Qatar of maintaining good relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamist group it links to al Qaeda and Hamas.

Qatar's critics have pointed out even before the diplomatic crisis that the country financed the Palestinian National Authority and maintained relations with the Hamas group, armed the Libyan rebels who rose up against Moammar Gahdafi in 2011, pushed for sanctions against the Syrian government in the context of the civil war, and maintains an open dialogue, unlike its neighbors, with Iran.

Qatar also played a central role in the US-Taliban negotiations, serving as a mediator and establishing a Taliban office in Doha for negotiations.

In 2014 Qatar's Sheikh, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, defended his country against accusations of having links to groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, which, like most of the international community, his country considers terrorists.

But he also said that he does not believe that Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood are, as some countries believe.

With information from Tim Lister, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Susannah Cullinane, Tamara Qiblawi, and Mostafa Salem.

QatarTerrorism

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-11-18

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