UAE to protest Qatari interception of airplanes via "all official int'l channels"

DUBAI, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Wednesday it will follow "all official international channels" against Qatar's alleged interception of two regular UAE passenger flights en route to Bahrain.

The Gulf state's official news agency WAM reported that the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Qatar's move "endangered air safety and passengers' lives."

The statement added that the UAE will follow "all official international channels," including contacting the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO," regarding the interception.

The statement was released during a briefing organized by the ministry in Abu Dhabi earlier Wednesday for the ambassadors of permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to the UAE and those of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

The latter three countries, along with the UAE, form the "Arab Quartet" which cut diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar on June 5, 2017 on allegations that it was supporting "terrorism," a charge which Qatar denies.

On Monday morning, the UAE civil aviation authority GCCA said Qatari fighter jets intercepted two UAE passenger aircraft in one hour on their scheduled routine flight routes from Dubai to Manama, the capital of Bahrain.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said at the briefing that the Qatar's action showed it is determined to escalate the situation.

"A disaster was about to happen. However, the UAE will not escalate and will follow legal channels and we have strong grounding for this," said Gargash.

However, Qatar on Monday denied the interception, saying the claim is "completely false." Enditem