Qatar complains to UN after UAE ‘hijacks’ fishing boat
Doha has complained to the United Nations about a January incident, in which it said a United Arab Emirates (UAE) vessel hijacked a Qatari fishing boat with eight crewmen.
Qatar’s UN Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani informed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council of the kidnapping incident in a message, the official Qatar News Agency reported Friday.
The message said Qatar’s marine surveillance saw a UAE naval vessel release a boat into the country’s territorial waters. The Emirati boat then blocked a Qatari fishing boat and forced the eight crewmen onboard, all of them Indian nationals, “at gunpoint” to enter the UAE’s economic zone.
The incident “constituted a kidnapping and is a dangerous precedent and a severe violation of international norms,” according to the message.
Doha further said Abu Dhabi is “fully responsible for the safety of the members of the Qatari fishing boat,” calling for pressure on the UAE to respect international regulations and release the abductees.
Following Saudi Arabia’s lead, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain abruptly imposed a trade and diplomatic embargo on Qatar last June, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Doha strongly denies the allegation.
The UAE has taken the lead in fueling the diplomatic crisis with Qatar.
In January, Qatar and the UAE traded accusations of airspace violations.
The latest report came a day after Qatar’s Al Jazeera said an Emirati military transport plane had recently penetrated the country’s airspace without permission.
A series of leaked documents revealed in November 2017 that the UAE had a stunning detailed plot to launch an economic war on Qatar.
Last month, Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had planned a military invasion of his country at the beginning of a diplomatic crisis that erupted last year.
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