Chad had on Wednesday orders the closure of the Qatari embassy in N’Djamena and gave its staff 10 days to leave. Chad is accusing Doha of plans to destablise its country through Libya, according to Reuters. Chad and some African countries had recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in June 2017. They acted after a gulf diplomatic feud involving Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt all broke diplomatic ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting Islamist extremist, a charge Qatar denied.
In response, Qatar ordered the embassy of Chad be closed and gave its diplomats 72 hours to leave, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing the African country of joining a "campaign of blackmail" with its decision to shutter the Qatari embassy.
The director of the Qatari foreign ministry's media department said the timing of the Chadian decision shows that it "comes within the campaign of political blackmail against the State of Qatar with the intention of joining the siege countries for very well known reasons".
Senegal said this week it had returned its ambassador to Qatar after having recalled him three months ago, in a bid to encourage a peaceful resolution to the feud. Chad did not provide any details to support the accusation that Doha was trying to destabilize it through Libya.
The UAE and Qatar, which both played key roles in backing rebels who toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, have emerged as rivals on the battlefield with conflicting interests in Libya.
