Bahrain Accuses Qatar of Seeking ‘Military Escalation’

Bahrain FM Slams Qatar for Allowing Turkish Troops In

Turkey’s deployment of an unspecified number of troops to Qatar was seen by most as a none too subtle sign of support for the tiny Gulf emirate, which is facing a hostile blockade from several other nations in the region. Bahrain, one of the blockading nations, is reacting with outrage to this too.

Turkey’s military base in Qatar

Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalif bin Ahmed al-Khalfa insisted that Bahrain’s disputes were only “diplomatic and security oriented,” and that Qatar had made them military in nature by “bringing in foreign armies and their armored vehicles.”

The most recent round of demands against Qatar includes the expulsion of all Turkish troops from their country. Qatar is expected to reject the demands, and Turkey’s President Erdogan has already done so, insisting it is no one’s business but Turkey and Qatar if they have a military base on Qatari soil.

In addition to the deployment of troops, Turkey has also replaced the other Gulf states as an important trading partner for Qatar, providing substantial amounts of food and water to them. Qatar has also increased trade with Iran over the past few weeks as another alternate source of food.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.