Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

Doha: Accusing Qatar of destabilising the region, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have cut diplomatic ties with it. They accused Qatar of backing militants groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Doha has denied.

The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with the tiny peninsula of Qatar. Qatar called the move “unjustified” with “no basis in fact”.

The unprecedented move is being seen as a significant split between powerful Gulf countries, who are also close US allies.

It comes in the context of increased tensions between Gulf countries and their near-neighbour Iran. The Saudi statement accused Qatar of collaborating with Iranian-backed militias.

The diplomatic withdrawal was put into motion by Bahrain then Saudi Arabia early on Monday. Their allies Egypt and the UAE swiftly followed.

SPA cited officials as saying the decision was taken to “protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.

The three Gulf countries have given Qatari nationals two weeks to leave their territory.

The UAE state airline 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”

While the severing of ties with Qatar was sudden, it has not come out of the blue, as tensions have been building over recent years, and particularly in recent weeks.

Two weeks ago, the same four countries blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera. Controversial comments purportedly by Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani criticising Saudi Arabia appeared on Qatari state media.

The government in Doha dismissed the comments as fake, attributing the report to a “shameful cybercrime”.