To intensify the level of the break of diplomatic relations with Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday has deported over 15,000 and 5,000 Qatari camels and sheep respectively.
According to a Qatari radio, on June 5 Saudi Arabia shut its border with Qatar – thereby left a lot of travelers (most especially nomads) and animals stranded.
Owners of the camels were very excited to welcome their livestock after about fifteen days of detainment of the KSA borders.
“Thank God I have my camels back!” said Ali Magareh, 40, waiting with his seven-year-old son at the crossing point.
“For one week they kept them waiting there. The camels were starving. Some of the males were fighting and in very bad condition. My brother still has 10 or 11 camels in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Qatar has so far provided temporary shelter, as well as water and fodder, to 7,000 camels and 5,000 sheep returning from the kingdom, Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported.
The Saudi-led war in Yemen aimed at ousting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels led to the break between Qatar and several gulf nations, including Egypt, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations accused Qatar of financing terrorism, a charge unapologetically denied by Qatar.
As for camel herders, they said that they do not want to have anything to do with politics; they are majorly concerned about the survival of their means of livelihood.
“We just want to live out our days, to go to Saudi Arabia and take care of our camels and go back and take care of our family,” a camel owner told Reuters.
