Libya accuses Qatar of assassinating former army chief

CAIRO - 13 June 2017: Abdel Razek Al-Nazori, Libyan chief of army staff accused Qatar of killing his predecessor, General Abdul Fatah Younes in statements reported by SkyNews, Tuesday.

‘Qatar has been supporting terrorist groups directly and publicly since 2014, the assassination of Younes on 2011 has to be part of its plan to control over the country using those groups.’ Al-Nazori added in his statements.

He explained his allegations saying that during 2011, the Qatari chief of army staff then, came to Tripoli without Younes’s knowledge, moreover, he found that he was cooperating with outlawed Muslim Brotherhoods inside the country, so he questioned him about both of his actions; ‘month later he was assassinated,’ he said.

Abdul Fatah Younes was assassinated on July 28, 2011 in front of a hotel in Benghazi, where he was supposed to hold a meeting with the National Transitional Council (NTC).
‘Qatar used the political situation in Libya for its favor. They hired terrorist groups, supported and armed them,’ Al-Nazori added in his statements.

The relations between Qatar and number of other Arab and gulf states has been strained since May 24, when the Qatari state-run news agency reported Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani, statements regarding Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as ‘unwise.’ He also added that the American military base inside his country is ‘the only protection guarantee’ to Doha against ‘foreign ambitions.’

Shortly later, on Monday June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar for its ‘continuous support for terrorism,’ closing their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation.

On Tuesday June 6, Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad, started a tour included Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar trying to mediate between them. No official details were published about the results of the meetings; however, according to Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa statements to Makkah Saudi newspaper on Thursday June 8, Kuwait’s attempts of reconciliation have failed.