Turkish parliament authorizes further troop deployment to Qatar
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Turkish parliament ratified two agreements authorizing the deployment of additional armed forces to Qatar with the purpose of training.
Under the bill, the armies of the two countries will also be able to carry out joint exercises, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
It was not immediately clear how many more troops Turkey would send to the Gulf state.
The deal was adopted after 240 members of parliament voted and favor and 32 against, according to Rudaw Turkish.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) widely supported the move, while the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) opposed the deployment.
There was no immediate response from Qatari officials.
“Within the framework of the agreement, it is envisaged that a joint Turkish-Qatar divisional tactical headquarters should be established, that its place should be in Doha, that the commander of the unit is to be a major general and a Qatari, and that the commander assistant is to be a brigadier and Turkish,” the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News quoted Defense Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Major Ihsan Bülbül as saying.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives severed official and trade ties with oil-rich Qatar on Monday, claiming support and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda and fueling the war in Yemen.
Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani disputed a Saudi statement accusing Qatar of "embracing terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at de-stabilizing the region."
"With all due respect, this statement is full of contradictions because it is saying that we are supporting Iran and on the other hand supporting the extremist groups in Syria, and (that) we are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Saudi or in Yemen and we are supporting the Iranian-backed Houthis from the other side. In all battlefields, there are adversaries," he told CNN on Tuesday.
Qatar is a strategic Gulf country where the United States has Al Udeid Air Base, its largest in the Middle East.
Turkey has maintained a base in Qatar since 2014. Last year, Hurriyet reported 150 Turkish troops were stationed in Qatar. Turkey’s former ambassador to Qatar in late 2015 told Reuters that 3,000 ground troops could eventually be deployed.
Under the bill, the armies of the two countries will also be able to carry out joint exercises, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
It was not immediately clear how many more troops Turkey would send to the Gulf state.
The deal was adopted after 240 members of parliament voted and favor and 32 against, according to Rudaw Turkish.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) widely supported the move, while the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) opposed the deployment.
There was no immediate response from Qatari officials.
“Within the framework of the agreement, it is envisaged that a joint Turkish-Qatar divisional tactical headquarters should be established, that its place should be in Doha, that the commander of the unit is to be a major general and a Qatari, and that the commander assistant is to be a brigadier and Turkish,” the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News quoted Defense Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Major Ihsan Bülbül as saying.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives severed official and trade ties with oil-rich Qatar on Monday, claiming support and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda and fueling the war in Yemen.
Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani disputed a Saudi statement accusing Qatar of "embracing terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at de-stabilizing the region."
"With all due respect, this statement is full of contradictions because it is saying that we are supporting Iran and on the other hand supporting the extremist groups in Syria, and (that) we are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Saudi or in Yemen and we are supporting the Iranian-backed Houthis from the other side. In all battlefields, there are adversaries," he told CNN on Tuesday.
Qatar is a strategic Gulf country where the United States has Al Udeid Air Base, its largest in the Middle East.
Turkey has maintained a base in Qatar since 2014. Last year, Hurriyet reported 150 Turkish troops were stationed in Qatar. Turkey’s former ambassador to Qatar in late 2015 told Reuters that 3,000 ground troops could eventually be deployed.