Al Jazeera: Turkey troops arrive in Qatar

Turkish troops have arrived in Qatar for long-planned joint military exercises, Al Jazeera reported today.

The channel posted a video on its website of a column of armoured personnel carriers moving through streets. It said the troops had arrived yesterday.

On 7 June, Turkey’s parliament fast-tracked legislation to allow troops to be deployed to a military base in Qatar, two days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Qatar vehemently denies the accusations.

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Turkey has a military base in Qatar that currently houses about 90 Turkish soldiers.

The Turkish forces conducted their first training at Tariq Bin Ziyad military base yesterday, Al Jazeera said, citing the ministry, saying the drills had been long planned.