N’DJAMENA: Chad is shuttering Qatar’s embassy and giving its diplomats 10 days to leave the country, accusing the Gulf Arab state of trying to destabilize the central African nation via its northern neighbor Libya, it said on Wednesday.
It is not the first African state to move against Qatar following its rift with other Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates and Saudia Arabia.
Senegal said this week that it had reinstated its ambassador to Qatar after having recalled him three months ago, in a bid to encourage a peaceful resolution to the feud.
“In order to safeguard peace and security in the region, Chad calls on Qatar to cease all actions that could undermine its security as well as those of the countries of the Lake Chad basin and the Sahel,” the foreign ministry statement said.
It did not provide any details to support the accusation. The statement from Chad’s foreign ministry added that it would close its diplomatic mission in Doha and recall all personnel.
Qatari officials were not immediately available to comment.
In Libya, the UAE and Qatar, which both played key roles in backing rebels in the uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, have emerged as rivals on the battlefield with conflicting interests.
The vacuum created by Qaddafi’s downfall led to a flood of weapons from state arsenals into the hands of Islamist groups who then pushed south into Africa’s Sahel nations where they launch attacks on military and civilian targets.
Today in Libya, the UAE, along with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, has backed anti-Islamist former army commander Khalifa Haftar, appointed by a government and parliament based in the east. Qatar and Turkey have supported rival Islamist-leaning factions in western Libya. (Reporting by Madjiasra Nako)
Chad shuts Qatar embassy, tells diplomats to leave
Chad shuts Qatar embassy, tells diplomats to leave
Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country
- Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading toward the country from Iran and had activated air defenses, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens sounding in Jerusalem and the sound of explosions in the distance.
A short time later, Israel’s military said it was permitted to leave shelters.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications center in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the Middle East including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.
