@shalome05 (Associated Press)
Four Arab nations have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar, further deepening a rift between Gulf Arab nations over that country's support for Islamist groups.
Qatari residents awoke on Monday to learn that several major Gulf State nations had cut all diplomatic ties with their country.Along with several other countries in the Middle East, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have all announced the decision to sever their relationship with Qatar due to its government's support of Islamist groups and Iran.
"The measures that have been taken by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the other states are the equivalent of an economic blockade," Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global risks and resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, told Business Insider.
With rising uncertainty about how the sanctions will affect the country's food supplies, many Qataris have already started stocking up on supplies at their local supermarkets. Along with giving Qatari citizens 2 weeks to leave those countries and shutting down Qatar's only land border with Saudi Arabia, leaders of the Arab states have moved to isolate the country by land, sea, and air.