28 Mar 2024
Sputnik - Thousands of ordinary families have fallen victims to an ongoing spat between a group of Gulf states and Qatar, the human rights group Amnesty International charged in a press release on Friday.





WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are toying withthe lives ofthousands ofPersian Gulf residents ina dispute withQatar, splitting upfamilies and destroying peoples livelihoods and education, the release reads.
"For potentially thousands ofpeople acrossthe Gulf, the effect ofthe steps imposed inthe wake ofthis political dispute is suffering, heartbreak and fear," Deputy Director ofAmnesty Internationals Global Issues Program James Lynch stated inthe release. "These drastic measures are already having a brutal effect, splitting children fromparents and husbands fromwives."


On 5 June Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE ordered Qatari nationals toleave their territories within14 days and announced that all oftheir nationals had toreturn fromQatar, threatening penalties foranyone who did comply, the release explained.


The release cited Qatars National Human Rights Committees estimate ofmore than11,000 nationals ofthe three nations living inQatar. Many Qataris also live inBahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Gulf Arab nations, withthe exception ofKuwait and Oman, acted because ofQatars longtime support formilitant Islamist groups such asHamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, aswell asthe nations ties withregional rival Iran.

Earlier onFriday, President Donald Trump also urged Qatar tocrack downon extremism, claiming the nation had historically funded extremists ata high level.

The dispute represents a dilemma forthe United States sinceQatar hosts the largest US Air Force base inthe region while Bahrain hosts the headquarters forthe US Navys Fifth Fleet.

Shortly beforeTrump spoke, Secretary ofState Rex Tillerson warned that the dispute was hurting the US-led war againstthe Islamic State terror group (banned inRussia) and urged nations towork withKuwait asa mediator toresolve tensions.

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