Qatari envoy: Saudi, UAE working with al-Qaeda extremists in Yemen
Tehran (KNA) - Qatar's envoy to the US attacks Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over revelations about their secret dealings with al-Qaeda extremists in Yemen, saying the duo is putting regional peace at risk by allowing the Takfiri terror group to "flourish" in the war-torn country.
In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post on Wednesday, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are busy cutting deals with al-Qaeda terrorists operating in Yemen instead of making efforts to restore peace to the Arabian Peninsula state and end the humanitarian crisis of their own making there.
"We should be engaging in dialogue to find a political solution in Yemen. Instead, our neighbors have chosen to turn their backs on the region, letting extremists flourish in an already fragile state. Our collective goal in the Middle East is to counter terrorism, but our neighbors have different priorities," said Sheikh Meshal.
The senior Qatari diplomat based his remarks on an investigation by the Associated Press, which blew the lid off the secret collaboration between the Saudi-led coalition waging war on Yemen and the al-Qaeda terrorists active there.
The AP study found that "the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaeda fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash," while "hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself."
Source: PressTV