Qatar closes embassy to Yemen due to crisis: report

 Qatar on Thursday decided to " temporarily" suspend its embassy operations in Yemen and withdraw its diplomatic mission due to the escalating violence after President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-brokered initiative for the third time, the Qatar News Agency reported.

The decision was made due to the lack of response to the initiative and appeals to resolve the crisis, the report quoting sources from the Qatari foreign ministry.

The diplomatic mission would resume after violence and fighting comes to an end, and the demands of the Yemeni people and their choices are met, the report said.

Qatar earlier this month exited the GCC-brokered initiative to resolve the crisis in Yemen due to Saleh's delay in signing the deal.

Embattled President Saleh has balked at the U.S.-backed GCC deal three times since April.

Saleh on Thursday ordered the arrest of opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar and his brothers who supported anti- government protesters demanding the end of Saleh's rule.

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