Qatar donates 68 armoured vehicles to Somalia

Qatar on Thursday donated 68 armoured vehicles to Somalia in a move Doha said aims to strengthen the Somali state. 

Somalia is currently battling Islamist militant groups that threaten to further destabilise the Horn of Africa country.

Doha's donation to Mogadishu follows a period of souring relations between Somalia and the United Arab Emirates. Somalia, which is located on key shipping routes, has refused to take sides in the ongoing Gulf crisis involving Qatar and the UAE.

The UAE along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain has for 19 months imposed an economic and political blockade on Qatar. The Saudi-led bloc accuses Qatar of supporting terrorism and fostering close ties with Iran - charges Doha has denied.

In the past year Somalia's relations with UAE have become strained over the Gulf state's investments in Somaliland, a breakaway Somali region, and alleged retaliatory action against Somalia for not taking sides in the Gulf crisis.

Somalia ended military training with the UAE in April amid a key point in the fallout.

The European Union last year condemned the UAE for its alleged retaliatory action against the African state. 

"In terms of the wider confrontation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and Qatar, on the other, the Federal Government of Somalia has sought to remain neutral; whereas, in retaliation, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have ceased their regular budgetary support payments to Somalia, which further weakens the government's ability to pay the security forces," an EU resolution from July said.