UAE responds to UN over Qatar airspace violation claims

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA (AA) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced it had submitted a formal response to the UN Security Council (UNSC) over allegations by Doha that it violated Qatari airspace last month, the UAE’s official WAM news agency said.

“The UAE’s permanent mission to the UN in New York has delivered the state's response [to Qatar’s allegations],” WAM quoted Yacoub Yousef al-Hosani, UAE assistant minister of foreign affairs, as saying.

The response, he said, “refutes the Qatari allegations contained in a memorandum sent to the UN Security Council concerning the alleged infiltration of its airspace by a UAE military aircraft”.

“The military aircraft was flying outside of Qatari airspace,” al-Hosani added.

Last week, Qatar announced it had filed a complaint with the UN Security Council regarding the alleged breach of its sovereign airspace late last month by a UAE military aircraft -- a claim denied by Abu Dhabi.

On Monday, the UAE responded in kind, alleging that Qatari jet fighters had “intercepted” Emirati civilian aircraft -- twice -- as they flew towards Bahrain.

Qatari officials, for their part, have been quick to deny the allegations.

Notably, the UAE is a member of a Saudi-led bloc of Arab states that collectively severed ties with Qatar last summer for allegedly supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Qatar has consistently denied the terrorism claims, describing the attempts to isolate it by its fellow Arab states as a breach of international law.