Qatar connected with Awamiya attacks: Saudi official

CAIRO – 10 August 2017: Qatar is connected with the violent attacks that took place in a neighborhood in the district of Awamiya, located in Qatif, said Saud Al-Qahtani, an advisor at the Royal Court in Saudi Arabia on his Twitter account.

Qatif, an eastern province in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, has been hit by a string of attacks over the past week, some of them deadly. The province recently witnessed confrontations between the Saudi security forces and terrorist groups that attacked the residents and security personnel.

The advisor also condemned media coverage of the attacks taking place in Awamiya, stating that they are working based on orders of the Qatari regime, which is serving the “Iranian agenda”.

He also said that channels owned by the Qatari regime, such as Al-Jazeera, have depicted incidents in Awamyia as “repression” and “massacres”.

He recalled one of his previous statements, when he said that the Qatari regime supplies terrorists in Awamiya with money and weapons.

Awamiya has been a focal point of protests by the Shi'ite minority against what they say is discrimination by the Sunni-ruled kingdom. Saudi Arabia denies discrimination against Shi'ites and accuses Iran of fomenting unrest, a charge Tehran denies.

Authorities say a modern district comprising of shopping centers, office buildings and green spaces will be built in place of the dilapidated town, which dates back more than 200 years.

On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab of Emirates and Bahrain ended diplomatic ties with Qatar due to the tiny emirate’s support of terrorism.

The Arab quartet issued 13 demands to Doha – then shortened to six principles – including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base.