Ali slams Qatar for intercepting UAE aircraft

CAIRO – Member of Parliament Abdel Rahim Ali described Sunday as "crazy" the interception by Qatari fighter planes of a United Arab Emirates civilian aircraft carrying 86 passengers to Bahrain earlier in the day.

"This is an act of insanity by the Tamim bin Hamad regime and its bandits," Ali said. "The Qatari regime is playing with fire," he added in a statement.

Ali's statement followed accusations by the United Arab Emirates that Qatari fighter planes had intercepted a civilian aircraft on the way to Bahrain.

The UAE craft had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision, UAE civil aviation authorities said.

Ali said the incident was a blatant threat to the safety of civil aviation and a violation of international laws and treaties.

He added in the statement that the Qatari action put the lives of the passengers of the UAE plane at risk.

He called for lodging a complaint against Qatar at the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The Arab League, he said, has to intervene and take decisive action against the terrorist regime of Qatar so that such an aggression would not be repeated.

Ali said that Egypt and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council would not allow the Qatari regime to commit such dangerous mistakes that put the lives of civilians in danger.