Mystery surrounds abduction of Qataris in Iraq

A conference held in Cairo has condemned the abduction of a Qatari hunting party who were abducted in Iraq in December last year.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

27 February, 2016

A group of Qatari hunters [not pictured] went missing in Iraq last December [AFP]

The abduction of Qatari hunters in Iraq has been condemned at The First Conference of Speakers of the Arab Parliaments.

The group demanded the release of the "innocent citizens who entered the Iraqi territory legitimately and legally" and declared their "full solidarity with the Qatari government and support all actions taken by it to secure the release of its citizens".

More than two dozen Qataris were abducted on the Iraqi-Saudi border in December 2015.

"An armed group driving dozens of pickup trucks kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters from their camp in the area of Busaya in Samawa desert near Saudi borders," said Samawa governor, Falih al-Zayady.

An unnamed source said 100 gunmen broke into the camp and abducted the three men, Reuters reported.

The Qatari foreign ministry said officials had been in "constant contact with the Iraqi government and the highest ranking political and security authorities in Iraq to understand in detail everything surrounding the kidnapping incident of Qatari citizens and is working closely with the Iraqi government on freeing them as soon as possible".

The UN shared their concern two weeks later in a phone call with the Iraqi prime minister who was urged "to do everything possible to ensure their prompt and safe release".