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Protesters hold rally outside Saudi embassy in Ankara

Frame grab from footage provided by AFP shows pro-Qatar protesters rallying in front of the Saudi Embassy in Ankara on June 10, 2017.

Protesters have rallied in front of the Saudi embassy in Ankara to denounce the kingdom's sudden rupture of diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The protesters on Saturday held up banners depicting US President Donald Trump and leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in which they were seen placing their hands on a globe during a ceremony last month.

The banners referred to the controversial opening of the so-called Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh during Trump's visit which culminated in the US signing of a $110 billion of arms deal with Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt broke off ties to Qatar on Monday. They also suspended all land, air, and sea traffic with Qatar, ejected its diplomats, and ordered Qatari citizens to leave their countries.

Turkey has sided with Qatar in the dispute and sent troops to the tiny Persian Gulf country amid fears of a possible coup or military invasion by Saudi Arabia and its allies similar to their attacks on Yemen.

Saudi Arabia cut its diplomatic relations with Iran following angry protests held outside its diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic after the kingdom executed prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr in January 2016. 

US President Donald Trump (3L), US First lady Melania Trump (2L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C), and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (3R) pose for a group photo during the inauguration of the so-called Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in the Saudi capital Riyadh on May 21, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

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Saudi Arabia is angry at Qatar’s perceived support for the Egyptian opposition movement Muslim Brotherhood, which the current Turkish government also views positively. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that his country would continue to support Qatar in the dispute. Earlier in the week, the Turkish Parliament ratified a bill allowing the deployment of troops to Qatar, which also received Erdogan's endorsement. 

The recent diplomatic fallout has exposed deep divisions among perceived allies which had mobilized around a common call to topple the Syrian government.

Frictions had already emerged over their support for assorted militant groups which have occasionally turned their arms against one another as they have fought for spheres of influence.


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