Qatar Wants U.N. to Help Resolve Feud
Following a July 27 meeting with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani accused Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt of violating international law and said he was looking for a way to resolve the standoff through the U.N. “The entire campaign represents a series of violations of international law,” Al-Thani said. “The state of Qatar is not going to spare any effort in order to overcome those violations to try to resolve it through the right channels. The United Nations is the right platform to start from.” In response the UAE ambassador to the U.N., Lana Nusseibeh, described the actions taken against Qatar as “entirely legal, justified, and proportionate.”
Countries Aligned Against Qatar Signal Readiness for Discussions With Doha
After meeting in Manama, Bahrain on July 30, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt said they were ready to discuss the resolution of their feud with Qatar if Doha displayed a willingness to take action on their demands. According to Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, “The four countries are ready for dialogue with Qatar with the condition that it announces its sincere willingness to stop funding terrorism and extremism and its commitment to not interfere in other countries’ foreign affairs and respond to the 13 demands.” Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani responded that “there isn’t a clear vision, there is only a stubborn policy from the blockading countries and refusal to admit that these are illegal actions.”
Anti-Qatar Countries Open Emergency Air Routes for Qatar’s Use
On July 31, the four countries penalizing Qatar announced that, in coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization, they had opened air routes that Qatari planes can use in an emergency. Doha, however, denied that any such routes had been opened. After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and transport links with Qatar on June 5, they also banned Qatari planes from using their airspace, forcing airlines such as Qatar Airways to reroute their flights over Iran’s airspace.
Qatar Files WTO Complaint Against Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain
Qatar’s representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani, said on July 31 that Qatar filed a complaint at the WTO against the trade boycott imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. Qatar has requested “consultations” with the three countries, the first step in the trade dispute process. The three countries now have 60 days to resolve the complaint or be subject to legal action at the WTO and possible retaliatory trade sanctions.
Newly Leaked E-mails Show UAE Sought to Host Taliban Embassy
The United Arab Emirates and others have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and extremism, citing the Taliban Embassy established in Doha in 2013 as an example. According to leaked e-mails from Yousef Al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to Washington, DC, however, Abu Dhabi competed with Doha to host the Taliban. UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed was angry about Washington’s apparent switch in support for the embassy being in Qatar instead of the UAE, the e-mails revealed. The Taliban Embassy in Doha was established in coordination with the U.S. in its attempts to start peace talks in Afghanistan. Former U.S. officials recalled that both countries sought to host peace talks with the Taliban as a way to raise their status as international powers.
Houthis Launch Another Ballistic Missile Toward Mecca
On July 27, Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile toward the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis frequently fire short-range rockets, and occasionally longer-range ballistic missiles, over Yemen’s northern border into Saudi Arabia. Last October they fired a ballistic missile toward Mecca that was shot down outside the city. The Houthis said the latest missile, which was shot down 43 miles from Mecca, was targeting King Fahd airbase.
Yemen’s Government Will Not Allow Houthis to Control Hodeidah Port
On July 31, Yemen’s information minister said the government would not let the Houthis keep control of the port of Hodeidah, where 80 percent of Yemen’s food imports enter the country. The U.N. has offered a plan in which the port would be monitored by a neutral third party to protect it from the war and allow humanitarian aid to continue coming in. Yemen’s government accuses the Houthis of using the port to smuggle in weapons and collect taxes on imports to finance their war efforts—charges the Houthis deny. According to the information minister, the government accepted the U.N. proposal. The Houthis, however, will only accept the plan if it involves back salary payments to state workers and the resumption of commercial flights from Sana’a.
Hundreds Flee Eastern Saudi Town of Awamiya Amid Fighting
Amid an ongoing government operation to demolish the old section of Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia, hundreds of people have fled the town during the weeks of fighting between security forces and militants. Riyadh says militants use the narrow streets of Awamiya’s old district as a hideout, while some residents accuse government forces of shooting randomly at buildings and cars, trying to force people out. Others, however, have asked the government for help to flee the town. At least seven people, including two police officers, have been killed in the fighting. The mostly Shi’i residents of Saudi Arabia’s eastern districts have long felt discriminated against by the government, and the U.N. has spoken out against the demolition of Awamiya’s old district.
U.N. Says Yemen’s Food Crisis is Partly Man-Made War Tactic
U.N. development chief Auke Lootsma said on Aug. 1 that Yemen’s food-security crisis is a “man-made disaster” and partly the result of a war tactic. Seventy percent of Yemenis need humanitarian aid, he added, 60 percent don’t know where their next meal is coming from, almost seven million are near a “state of famine,” and two million children are “acutely malnourished.” The U.N.’s call for $2.1 billion in humanitarian aid for Yemen is only 45 percent funded. In addition, more than 430,000 cases of cholera have been reported, and 1,900 people have died from the disease since April.
Iran Opens New Smuggling Route to Yemen’s Houthis
According to an Aug. 1 Reuters report, for the past six months Tehran has been using a new route between Kuwait and Iran to ship weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen in order to avoid the arms embargo on that country. Iran now transfers weapons to small boats in Kuwaiti waters—which are under less scrutiny than the old method of shipping directly to Yemen, or via Somalia. An Iranian official said the new route is used to smuggle “parts of missiles, launchers, and drugs,” and sometimes cash. The following day, Kuwait denied that Iran was using its waters for smuggling routes.
—Alex Shanahan
