In this Monday April 21, 2008 file photo, a bus and a plane are seen at the Cairo International airport, in Egypt (Photo: AP)
Egypt's airport authorities have barred two members of Qatar's royal family from entering the country for not acquiring a prior visa, state news agency MENA said.
The men, identified by MENA as Khalifa bin Jassim Bin Ahmed and his brother Hamad, were stopped at Cairo International Airport on Thursday morning upon their arrival from London for not carrying a pre-issued travel visa. The duo was departed on the same flight.
Ties between Egypt and Qatar have soured since the Egyptian army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer. Doha has criticised an ensuing deadly crackdown by Egyptian authorities on Islamists, with Cairo accusing the Gulf state of backing Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement – declared a terrorist group by the government late last year.
Three other Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – have fallen out with Qatar over its role with Islamists, including the Brotherhood, in the region. The tension hit a new low in March with the three states recalling their envoys.
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