Qatar blacklists Egyptian, Saudi 'terrorists'

DOHA: Qatar has blacklisted 20 people and eight organisations as “terrorist,” nine months after finding itself isolated in the Gulf over alleged support for extremists and their sympathisers.

The list, published by the interior ministry late Wednesday, includes 12 Qatari nationals, two Saudi Arabians, four Egyptians and two Jordanians.

The move comes nine months after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of bankrolling extremists and fostering ties with Iran.

Qatar has denied the allegations and says the Saudi-led bloc aims to incite regime change in the emirate, the world’s richest country per capita.

Saudi Arabia and its allies months ago unveiled a “terrorist” list of 90 organisations and individuals in Qatar accused of ties to extremist groups including Al-Qaeda.

The new Qatari list overlaps significantly with that list.

Among the names now blacklisted by Doha is Qatari Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi, who in 2013 landed on the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for “providing financial support” to Al-Qaeda and its affiliates across Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia.

The Qatari list also includes the Islamic State group branch in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, as well as a car rental company and tent and furniture stores.

The decision to publish the list received a lukewarm welcome by the United Arab Emirates, which along with its allies has banned all Qataris from its territory.

“Pride aside, Qatar is confirming evidence against it and confirming that its support for extremism and terrorism is at the heart of the crisis,” tweeted UAE state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash.