Ban travel of citizens to conflict zones: MP

An MP called upon the authorities to ban citizens from travelling to conflict zones abroad by setting strict rules and conditions in this regard, it was recently announced.

Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Parliamentary Committee Head Abdulla Binhowail said, “This demand comes as the number of kidnap cases of GCC citizens in these areas have increased lately.”

He described these incidents as “political blackmailing” of GCC countries, calling the State and citizens to take the matter seriously.

“The political, economic and the sectarian and ideological terrorism developments at the current stage require us to be more vigilant. Besides that, the growing ambitions and dispute over oil and natural resources in the region have placed us in a very dangerous state of internal conflict,” he commented.

Binhowail’s statements followed the kidnapping of a group of Qatari nationals by a “sectarian-terrorist” group, while the victims were on a hunting trip in Iraq recently.

He said, “The repetition of such attacks and assaults clearly prove that the regional countries witnessing internal conflicts and political and sectarian disruptions are incapable of protecting their visitors.”

Binhowail demanded both Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministries for more coordination among them in regards to allowing citizens to travel to such areas, adding that this cooperation should be between all GCC countries.

As reported last week, Militants in the southern Iraq desert ambushed and abducted at least 26 hunters from a Qatari safari on Wednesday.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the kidnapping occurred near the Saudi border by “unknown militants riding a number of vehicles.”