CAIRO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Egypt announced on Monday the cut of diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf Arab state of supporting "terrorist" organizations, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The Arab Republic of Egypt decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in light of the Gulf Arab state's persistence to take a path against Egypt, and the failure of any attempts to prevent it from supporting terrorist organizations, topped by the Muslim Brotherhood," said the statement.p The Brotherhood has been outlawed by Egypt.
It added that Qatar is sheltering leaders of the Brotherhood who targeted security and safety of Egypt by conducting terrorist operations.
The statement attributed cutting ties with Qatar to the state's promotion of extremist thoughts of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, its support for terrorist operations in Sinai, as well as its intervention in Egypt's internal affairs in a way that threatens its national security.
Ties between Egypt and Qatar have been deteriorated since the ouster of the Egyptian Islamist affiliated leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013 as a result of a mass protest against his rule.
