Turkey Beefs Up Military Presence In Qatar

A sixth batch of troops from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has reached Qatar’s capital Doha Wednesday for the support of the struggle with terror and extremism as well as protecting the stability and security in the region.

Qatar’s defense ministry released a Twitter statement Wednesday saying that the group, which went to Qatar under the military cooperation agreement between the two countries, joined the other Turkish forces in Doha and started a mutual mission with the Qatari Armed Forces.

Last week, Qatar said that more Turkish troops had arrived at a Turkish military base in Doha after Ankara fast-tracked legislation last month for more soldiers to be deployed there. Training at the Tariq bin Ziyad battalion camp has been ongoing since June 19.

Turkey has strongly backed Qatar in the crisis after Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations announced on June 5 they were suspending all ties with Qatar over accusations of terrorism, which were immediately denied by Qatar.

Doha denies the accusations and says measures imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours amount to a "blockade". The Saudi-led camp have since issued Doha with an ultimatum, which includes a demand for ending all military cooperation with Turkey.