Libya and Yemen have also broken off diplomatic relations today with Qatar (Sputnik reports). See also Sputnik's report on Qatar's response to all the cutoffs.
UPDATE
I see RT was blunter in its wording than the AP report I featured initially, so I'm also posting RT's version. Note from the RT report that Al Jazeera, which is controlled by Qatar's government, dragged its feet about making the announcement:
The RT breaking news banner reads:
"Qatar kicked out of Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen over alleged support for ISIS and al Qaeda"
RT headline for the report, which quotes Reuters in one part:
‘Terrorism, meddling in affairs’: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia & Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar
Published time: 5 Jun, 2017 02:39
Edited time: 5 Jun, 2017 03:57
Key Arab League nations, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE, have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar after Bahrain said it was cutting all ties and contacts with Doha. Qatar is accused of backing terrorist groups and meddling in other countries’ affairs.
Bahrain announced early Monday that it is severing diplomatic relations with neighboring Qatar and cutting air and sea connections with Doha, accusing it of meddling in its internal affairs. Bahrain’s state news agency said in a brief statement that Qatari citizens have 14 days to leave the country.
It accused Doha of supporting terrorism and meddling in Manama’s internal affairs.
Citing “protection of national security,” Riyadh then announced it was also severing ties with Doha and closing off all land, sea and air contacts, the Saudi state agency said in a statement, cited by Reuters.
The Saudi-led coalition has announced that Qatar’s participation in its joint military operation in Yemen has been canceled. The coalition’s statement accused Doha of supporting the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State terrorist groups.
Egypt was next to join the diplomatic war, with Cairo announcing it is cutting relations with Doha, according to Sputnik news agency.
Egypt has closed all its seaports and airspace to Qatari vessels and planes, the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar because of the continued hostility of the Qatari authorities towards Egypt,” the Cairo statement read, also accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has followed suit, citing “support, funding and embrace of terrorist, extremist and sectarian organizations” as the reason for cutting ties with Qatar.
The UAE’s state news agency said in a statement that Qatar is “undermining regional stability,” Reuters reports.
The Emirates has similarly given Qatar’s diplomats just 48 hours to leave its territory.
Alarmed viewers of the Qatari TV network Al Jazeera wondered why it was not covering the diplomatic crisis, instead tweeting pieces such as a video about hijab cosplay in Malaysia.
Al Jazeera finally broke the news at around 03:35 GMT, citing a “dispute over a Qatar news agency hack” as grounds for the crisis.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE top the 22-state Arab League in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), with Qatar currently ranking 4th.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
[END RT REPORT]
June 4 at 11:17 PM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Latest on the Gulf Arab dispute with Qatar (all times local):
7:10 a.m.
The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar.
The two countries have joined Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in cutting ties to Qatar amid a growing Arab diplomatic dispute with the small, gas-rich nation.
Both the UAE and Egypt made the announcement on their state-run news agencies within minutes of each other.
Qatari officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf’s Arab countries started over a purported hack of Qatar’s state-run news agency. It has spiraled since.
___
7 a.m.
Saudi Arabia says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar and it has pulled all Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia made the announcement via its state-run Saudi Press Agency early Monday [June 5]. It appeared to be timed in concert with an earlier announcement by Bahrain similarly cutting ties.
Qatar had no immediate comment.
[...]
6:50 a.m.
Bahrain says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar amid a deepening rift between Gulf Arab nations.
Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital of Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.
The ministry’s statement said Qatari citizens needed to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted. It wasn’t immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers.
Bahrain blamed Qatar’s “media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain” for its decision.
Qatar had no immediate comment.
[END REPORT]
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