Egypt gave the Qatari ambassador in Cairo two days to leave the country and has called back its senior representative in Doha, following a diplomatic rift that saw Cairo sever diplomatic relations with Doha alongside six other Arab states, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
“The Qatari ambassador was summoned today and given formal notification of the expiry of his accreditation as an ambassador to Egypt, and was given 48 hours to leave the country,” the statement read.
An earlier statement by Egypt’s foreign ministry said Egypt was also suspending air and sea links to Qatar, citing national security, and closing its airspace to Qatari aircraft.
Egypt decided on Monday to cut off its diplomatic relations with the Arab Gulf State of Qatar and accused the Qatari government of following a hostile policy against Egypt, in addition to sponsoring terrorist organization such as the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group.
The diplomatic withdrawal was put into motion first by Bahrain then Saudi Arabia early on Monday. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Yemen and Libya followed suit.
