LONDON/WASHINGTON/DOHA — The Qatari authorities are still unable to dispel reports in social media and newspapers about a coup attempt in the capital Doha against the Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. The Qatari regime has not yet officially denied the attempted coup. However, its Ambassador to Moscow Fahd Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah has denied the coup, through a statement to the Russian Tass news agency. It was widely reported on social media as well as on Israeli newspapers that former prime minister and foreign minister Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani has led an attempt to overthrow Tamim. These sites circulated video clips showing gunfire in the Al-Wakra neighborhood of Doha, near the Amiri Diwan, and aircraft hovering over the skies of Doha. It was reported in the Western capitals on Monday that Turkish forces had intervened to foil the coup attempt. The silence of the pro-Erdogan Turkish media with regard to the instability in Doha is also conspicuous. According to the information, clashes took place in Doha even after Monday dawn. Tweets in several Twitter accounts indicated that the dispute had worsened between the former prime minister Hamad Bin Jassim and Emir Tamim after the latter ordered the formation of a committee to investigate into the corruption of the Hamad Bin Jassim Foudation. Sources stressed that the dispute between Tamim and Hamad Bin Jassim is neither a secret nor it is a new one.Meanwhile, air traffic controllers around the world have confirmed the truth of aircraft hovering over the skies of the Qatari capital. The flight tracker program "Flightradar24" showed unusual flight movements in the Qatari airspace. It was also noted that several Qataris in Doha were asking, through their Twitter accounts, about what is happening in Al Wakra, but some of them immediately deleted these tweets. In the meantime, some websites and Twitter accounts that are loyal to Iran and Turkey claimed that reports about the Doha incidents were not true, while other accounts went on to say that the coup was about to succeed to a point that Tamim Bin Hamad ordered that his plane be ready to take him to London. It was reported in 2018 that the Qatari regime had succeeded in thwarting a similar coup. In 2017, there were rumors of a coup attempt in the Qatari capital. The former Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani rose to power with a coup against his father Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani in 1996. The Qatari authorities were not disclosing the truth about what was reported about the health condition of former Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
