The Qatari and Saudi/United Arab Emirates economic and diplomatic war which began early last summer appears to have taken to the skies above the Persian Gulf, where early Monday the UAE accused Qatari fighter jets of intercepting two UAE civilian airplanes. The UAE's official news agency WAM reported that the country's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has issued a statement, saying "it had received a complaint from one of the UAE's national carriers that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters."
The UAE's aviation authority condemned the flight intercept, which WAM also suggests included another flight that was intercepted while landing, describing both incidents as "a flagrant threat to the safety of civil aviation and a clear violation of international law." The statement further warned that, "The United Arab Emirates rejects this threat to the safety of air traffic and will take all the necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation."
Qatar was quick to deny the UAE's claims both through official statements and its major international broadcaster Al Jazeera. Qatar's spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lulwa al-Khater, issued a statement immediately following initial reports which reads, "The State of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter-planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft is completely false. A detailed statement will follow."
The State of
#Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter-planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft is completely false. A detailed statement will follow.
— لولوة راشد الخاطر (@Lolwah_Alkhater)
January 15, 2018 Following multiple statements out of the UAE, an Al Jazeera report quoted multiple Qatari officials who denied all allegations, while notably citing US military officials stationed in Qatar as having no knowledge of the incident. According to Al Jazeera:
US Air Force Central Command, which is based at the sprawling al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, also did not immediately have any report about an alleged incident involving a commercial aircraft in the region, said Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, an Air Force spokesman.
However, Pickart cautioned that US forces do not routinely monitor the flights and operations of the Qatari air force.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...-stocks-plunge
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