Qatar crisis: Isis pledges allegiance to Doha; or is it just fake news?

Even as Qatar has been facing a boycott by several Gulf countries over accusations that it has been funding terror activities, there seems to be new trouble brewing for the nation. It has now been reported that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has pledged its allegiance to Doha.

This bit of information was first reported by Saudi state-owned Al Ekhbariya channel, in a tweet on Friday, September 9, night. "Breaking: The terrorist 'Daesh' group declares its solidarity with #authorities_in_Doha against the #countries_calling_to_fight__against_terrorism. #Alekhbariya #Daesh_Supports_Qatar," the tweet read, according to Al Bawaba News.

Immediately after the tweet appeared, a hashtag "Daesh supports Qatar" began trending online and many users of the micro-blogging site reacted to it. While many have called out the information as fake, with some even blaming Saudi Arabia for the "fabricated statement," some slammed Qatar for its links to terrorism.

While the tweet may be fake, with some Twitterati even pointing out that the channel's social media site could have been hacked, if it turns out to be true, Qatar is evidently in for tougher times.

Meanwhile, tension between Qatar and Saudi Arabia refuses to die down and have, in fact, garnered more attention since leaders of the two nations spoke over the phone in a bid to resolve the issues.

The conversation between Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was supposed to help the two nations diffuse the three-month long issue, but the duo did not really agree on the situation.

The two parties, to begin with, could not decide on who had initiated the call. While the Saudi Press Agency said that Sheikh Tamim had "expressed his desire" to speak to the Saudi ruler and hence called him, Doha said that US President Donald Trump had helped break the ice, reported Bloomberg.

Considering the crisis has been going on for about three months now, Qatar has also urged the United Nations to step in and take up the issue as the blockade is resulting in the violation of human rights.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the country's foreign minister, was speaking at a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Monday, September 11, and said that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain's impositions on Qatar were "illegal" and that Doha was facing numerous issues due to it.

"These Gulf countries have taken illegal measures that constitute a grave violation of civil, economic and social human rights, including banning Qatari citizens travelling or transiting through their territories," Al Jazeera quoted Sheikh Mohammed as saying. "This has torn apart many families and has interrupted education and the right to work in Qatar."

The Qatar crisis began on June 5, 2017, with Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severing diplomatic ties with the country. Since then, these nations have listed 13 demands to end the boycott. The list of demands includes closing a Turkish military base, scaling down ties with Iran, shutting down Al Jazeera network, cutting ties with Muslim Brotherhood and other groups such ISIS, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, and stop granting citizenship to wanted people from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, among others.