Qatar-Gulf crisis: Your questions answered

[TomSea]

Qatar-Gulf crisis: Your questions answered 
A breakdown of the latest diplomatic crisis and what it means for the region.

Qatar-Gulf crisis

    What is the GCC?
    When did the crisis start?
    Why are they cutting ties?
    What does it entail?
    Qatar's response
    Is the GCC going to survive?
    Consequences for people living in Qatar
    Flight routes

On May 23, Qatar woke up to news of a hack attributing false statements to the emir of Qatar. The fake news was aired on several UAE and Saudi-owned networks in the Gulf. This sparked a series of diplomatic breakdowns between the GCC countries.

The latest developments include severing of diplomatic ties between three Gulf states and Qatar, an embargo imposed on Qatar, with air, sea and land borders shut down, and Qatari diplomats and residents expelled from those Gulf countries.

Here is a breakdown of the latest diplomatic crisis and what it entails for the region.

What is the GCC?

GCC stands for Gulf Cooperation Council. This is a political and economic alliance of countries in the Arabian peninsula. These are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1981 and its aim is to enhance cooperation and close relations among its members.

When did Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut ties with Qatar?

The announcements came in the early morning (5:50am, or 02:50 GMT) of June 5, 2017. Bahrain was the first to announce the severing of ties, it was followed shortly after by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt made their announcements within 10 minutes.

A few days later, Jordan also announced that it will scale back its diplomatic ties to Qatar and shut down the Al Jazeera bureau in Amman.

Why are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cutting ties with Qatar?

Continued: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/qatar-gulf-crisis-questions-answered-170606103033599.html