UAE army plane penetrates Qatari airspace: Al Jazeera

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - An Emirati military transport plane penetrated Qatari airspace without permission earlier this week, according to Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel.

On Sunday, the broadcaster reported, “an Emirati transport plane flying to Kuwait from Abu Dhabi entered Qatari airspace without authorization”.

Qatari fighter jets intercepted the errant plane after it failed to respond to warnings, according to Al Jazeera.

It is not the first time for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to exchange accusations of airspace violations.

In mid-January, the UAE said that one of its civilian aircraft had been “intercepted” by Qatari fighters while en route to Bahrain.

Doha responded by accusing the UAE of violating its airspace on three previous occasions.

For the last nine months, the two Gulf states have been on opposite sides of an unprecedented inter-Arab diplomatic row.

Last summer, the UAE -- along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain -- abruptly severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Qatar has consistently denied the allegations, accusing the four-nation bloc of infringing on its sovereignty.