Doha recalls its ambassador from Egypt after air raids on Libya
Doha (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Qatar has recalled its ambassador from Egypt today "for consultations". According to local media, the decision is due to Doha's opposition to Cairo's air raids against the jihadists in Libya.
The QNA state agency said that the recall of the
ambassador is a response to the statements of Tariq Adel, Egyptian delegate to
the Arab League.
The Egyptian media and Al Jazeera (Qatari TV) report that Adel accused Qatar of
supporting Islamic State terrorism. Adel has expressed his thoughts - shared by
a large portion of international opinion - after that Qatar expressed
reservations about Egypt's air raids in response to the beheading of 21
Egyptian Copts, who had gone to Libya to seek work.
The ambassadors of the Arab League had gathered to
approve the Egyptian operation. Qatar has distanced itself from the Arab League
statement, noting that "consultations are required before any unilateral
military action against a Member State". Doha also denounces the fact that
the representative of Egypt to the Arab League "confuses the need to
combat terrorism [with] ... the brutal killing and burning of civilians."
Qatar is suspected of being a longtime supporter of the Islamist formations fighting
Bashar Assad in Syria, but also of supporting the Islamic State, which has
occupied a part of Iraq and Syria, in alliance with jihadist groups in Libya.
Yesterday, the Egyptian president Abdelfattah Al Sisi visited the border with
Libya and said that Egypt will respond with military force to militia threats
to the security of his country (See photo).
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