UAE releases Qatari naval vessel, military personnel

"The UAE released a Qatari naval vessel with four people on board," the Emirati Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Qatari-flagged ship entered UAE waters on April 30 and was carrying four military personnel – two Qataris, one Palestinian and an Indian, according to the ministry. Qatar confirmed Monday that the vessel and its crew returned home "safely" after being temporarily detained by the UAE authorities. "The boat was carrying out routine drills in Qatari territorial waters and (suffered) a technical malfunction, and it drifted towards UAE territorial waters," said a statement by the Foreign Ministry of Qatar. The UAE has cut its relations with Qatar since June 2017 in response to a call by Saudi Arabia which accuses Qatar of supporting terrorism and financing extremism. Last year, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Bahrain and Egypt, formed a so-called Quartet which urged the Qatari government to comply with a list of demands that included severing ties with Iran and closing a Turkish military base in Qatar or face sanctions. Doha, however, has rejected the demands and said it was being targeted because of the independent policies which it pursued.   There is also disagreement between Qatar and the UAE over the Saudi-led war on Yemen. The UAE is Saudi Arabia’s main partner in its invasion of Yemen. Saudi Arabia launched the war in March 2015 to restore Yemen’s former Riyadh-backed officials. The World Health Organization says some 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition launched the war, but rights groups put the death toll at five times higher.

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