Bahrain Orders Qatari Troops To Leave: Source
Qatari soldiers would no longer be a part of the anti-terrorism fight in Bahrain. The Bahrain government has ordered Qatari troops serving with the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) to leave the country within two days, a source told the Agence France-Presse (AFP). However, there has not been any official announcement from the Naval command center yet.
Bahrain has accused Qatar of direct interference in their internal matters, the report said.
READ: All You Need To Know About Tensions In The Gulf
Although the exact number of troops present in the region is not known, reports suggest that there are very few Qatari officers in Bahrain.
The news comes as the Gulf faces the biggest diplomatic crisis in recent years. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended their diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5 and closed their airspace to commercial flights. The countries have alleged that Qatar has been supporting extremism, following which they decided to keep a distance from the Middle Eastern country.
Qatar has deployed its troops with Navcent which is a part of the US Central Command. These troops mostly operate in the Middle East and Asia.
The withdrawal of troops can have wider implications as U.S. has its largest air base in Qatar. Numerous air strikes targeting Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan have been conducted from the Qatari air base. With President Donald Trump siding Saudi Arabia and its allies, the future of the air base was doubtful. The US military authorities have been stressing on maintaining friendly relations with Qatar. However, Trump's stand on the issue was putting them in a fix, reports said.
After all the old alliances of Qatar pulled out, Turkey came forward in support of the country condemning the blockade. Turkey's parliament passed two bills; one on improving military training cooperation and the other allowing deployment of Turkish troops on the Qatari soil. Turkey had also sent food stocks to stave off any possible shortages in the country, reports said.
Qatar would also have Turkey’s its first overseas military installation in the Middle East. The defense cooperation between the two countries began in 2014 when they signed an agreement to confront ‘common enemies’. Both the nations have supported the Egyptian uprising and condemned the military coup that brought the country's current leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power.
Read: Gulf Countries' Blockade ‘Collective Punishment’, says Qatar
Qatar, which is the largest producer of natural gas, also sought support from other economic partners. It is also the largest natural gas supplier to the UAE. The Middle Eastern country has not made any comments on the gas supply.
Tensions with Qatar’s neighbors have grown in the recent years, following a tussle for regional leadership. Qatar has backed Islamist movements in the Middle East during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. It has also emphasized on improving its relations with Tehran.
Related Articles
