Bahrain, its neighbor, Qatar, complained to the Security Council, Saturday, after accusations by Doha of Manama of breaching its airspace.
On Wednesday, Qatar said that Bahrain had penetrated its airspace with 4 combat aircraft.
Bahrain described Qatar’s accusations as “false allegations,” saying that this is “regrettable and shameful,” according to the official Bahrain News Agency.
Bahrain sent, through its permanent representative to the United Nations, Jamal Faris Al-Ruwaie, a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, and the President of the Security Council for this month, Southern Africa, Jerry Matthews Matjela, describing Doha’s accusations as “part of the continuous and escalating distortion practiced by the State of Qatar with the aim of Destabilizing security and stability. ”
A statement by the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “during the implementation of a joint training flight of two F-16 aircraft belonging to the Royal Bahraini Air Force and two aircraft of the same type belonging to the US Air Force in the designated training area in Saudi airspace, as part of the joint air exercise between the two friendly weapons, and after the near end The time allotted for the sortie at 15:50 Kingdom of Bahrain time, the four planes merged into one formation and then headed to the skies of the Kingdom of Bahrain, crossing the airspace of Saudi Arabia towards the east in preparation for landing at Isa Air Force Base.
The statement added, “This route is considered the air corridor to exit the training area and enter the airspace of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and it did not lead the four planes to Qatari territory, and the Qatari airspace was not entered. The Royal Bahraini Air Force is careful to ensure that it does not approach the borders of other countries.”
This comes amid mounting tension between Manama and Doha in the case of the Bahraini fishermen, as Manama says, “They are being targeted for their lives and livelihoods” by the Qatari authorities.
This tension coincides with the acceleration of efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis and end the boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.
