Qatar is hitting back at suggestions that it supports the Islamic State extremist group, saying that “determined, collective action” is needed to end sectarian violence gripping Iraq and Syria.
The energy-rich OPEC member has come under renewed scrutiny over its ties to militants, including the Palestinian Hamas and Syrian rebel groups.
A German official last week suggested that Qatar may also play a role in funding the Islamic State, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria and was behind the recent beheading of US journalist James Foley.
Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah unequivocally denied funding the extremist group.
“Qatar does not support extremist groups, including ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], in any way,” he said in an e-mailed statement dated Saturday, using an alternative name for the group. “We are repelled by their views, their violent methods and their ambitions. The vision of extremist groups for the region is one that we have not, nor will ever, support in any way.”
Qatar was one of the first Middle Eastern countries to condemn Foley’s murder, saying it was “a heinous crime that goes against all Islamic and humanitarian principles, as well as international laws and conventions.”
The tiny Gulf emirate has supported Syrian rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Islamic State group is battling al-Assad’s forces, but it has also clashed with other rebel groups that do not embrace its extreme interpretation of Islam.
The group has carved out a self-declared Islamic state, or caliphate, taking in wide expanses of territory on both sides of the Syria-Iraq border.
Experts say the group generates at least some of its funding from kidnapping, extortion and other criminal business enterprises.
German Minister of Development Gerd Mueller on Wednesday suggested that Qatar could also be supporting the group.
In a television interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Mueller said it was important to examine who is financing the group, and that “the key word is Qatar.”
German officials quickly tried to smooth over that allegation.
Mueller spokeswoman Katharina Maenz told reporters on Friday that he had merely been referring to media reports about Qatar’s involvement.
German Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Martin Schafer said German diplomats in the Qatari capital, Doha, had met with Qatari officials to reassure them that Berlin considers the country a partner and that “if there were misunderstandings then we regret this.”
In his statement, al-Attiyah said the killing of civilians and the forced flight of hundreds of thousands of people threatens both Iraq’s existence and “the peace and security of the entire region.”
He called for collective action to end the sectarian violence raging in Iraq and Syria.
“There is no single answer, but it must include cutting off the flow of funds to support extremist groups throughout the region,” he said.
Qatar has also come under fire over its perceived support for Hamas.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese