Egypt Accuses Qatar of Backing Terrorism at UN Session

Egyptian officials have pointed fingers at Qatar for supporting terrorism during a U.N. session on Tuesday, held at the initiative of Egypt and chaired by Egypt’s Permanent Representative Amr Aboul Atta.

During the session, a list enumerating Qatar’s violations of the UN arms embargo on Libya was circulated with allegations that Doha is a key financial supporter of terrorism in the war torn North African country.

Egypt is part of the Saudi-led bloc that severed ties with Qatar and imposed on the Emirate air, sea, and land embargoes.

Egyptian authorities claim that terrorism has been blocking the path towards stability in Libya and has negative consequences on neighboring countries.

Deadly attacks carried out on Egyptian territory were linked to extremist groups operating from Libya.

Qatari diplomats rejected any alleged roles in fueling terrorism in Libya and accused Cairo of a media smear campaign following the “illegal” siege on Qatar. They claimed that the session, convened by Egypt, is being used as a platform to offend the Gulf State.

Qatar’s close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood have not been welcomed by the Sisi administration, which tagged the group as a terrorist organization.

During the session, Egypt called on the relevant U.N. committees and other organizations to document repeated violations by some countries, particularly Qatar, of the sanctions imposed on Libya.

The UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Libya as the civil war in the country drags on for years. The embargo has reportedly been violated by several parties, supporting rival governments and authorities in Libya.

Cairo wants the embargo to be lifted in favor of the Libyan National Army led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar who is loyal to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, which does not recognize the GNA, backed by the international community.