THE rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on one side and the Gulf state of Qatar on the other is spilling poison into the Horn of Africa,embittering animosities between half a dozen countries in the region. Several of them hold seized an opportunity to benefit from instability in the Arabian peninsula by offering bases. But if Arab conflicts spread, countries in the Horn could be dragged into the fray.
Broadly speaking, or the regional imbroglio (confused predicament) pits two camps of Muslims. One is a more vigorously Islamist lot,including Qatar and Turkey, which hold been friendly towards the Muslim Brotherhood, or an Islamist movement spanning many countries,and seek better relations with Iran. The other is an alliance led by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, or whose governments all loathe the Brothers and proclaim themselves as moderate Sunnis particularly hostile to the Shia version of Islam promoted by Iran.
But peripheral countries are being affected,too. According to...
Continue reading
Source: economist.com