Khalifa bin Mubarak Al Thani: The Qatari Regime Worked on Shattering the Family

Khalifa bin Mubarak bin Khalifa Al Thani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Khalifa bin Mubarak bin Khalifa Al Thani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Khalifa bin Mubarak Al Thani: The Qatari Regime Worked on Shattering the Family

Khalifa bin Mubarak bin Khalifa Al Thani (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Khalifa bin Mubarak bin Khalifa Al Thani (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The ruling Al Thani family in Qatar suffers from the risk of fragmentation and division, as many of its members are subjected to harsh practices because of their opposition to the regime’s policies. Many members have decided to emigrate or were forced to leave the country.

Khalifa bin Mubarak bin Khalifa Al Thani is among the family members, who left Qatar for rejecting the regime’s policies.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Qatari ruling authorities were monitoring Al Thani’s young generation, fearing their union against the regime.

He also stressed that the Qatari regime’s hostility towards the “Gulf House” has negatively affected members of the ruling family. The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, took a number of measures in an attempt to contain the opposition from within the family.

“They ordered the shooting of Nasser bin Hamad, broke his leg, and poisoned Suhaim bin Hamad. Today, the situation is different, and I hope the young people of Al Thani family make the decision and seek to save Qatar,” Khalifa bin Mubarak said.

He explained that their opposition to the policies of the Qatari regime was not something new, but a reaction to its continued interference in some countries’ internal affairs, its enmity towards Gulf countries and its incessant attempt to distinguish between the Qatari citizens and the peoples of the Gulf.

“How can we support the Qatari regime, which calls for divisions within the Gulf and supports terrorism?” He asked, noting that the ruling authority has welcomed Turkish army on the Qatari territory
to protect the soil of our homeland.”

“We now feel that our territory has become a Turkish colony, and we are carrying out what foreigners dictate to us in order to protect the regime,” he affirmed.

Khalifa bin Mubarak also revealed that the Qatari state budget and its expenses “go to the West in exchange for protecting the regime”, while ignoring the people and the country’s development and stability.

He said that the “heavily armed” Turkish troops were stationed at around 500 meters from the residence of the ruling power. “On the other hand, the Qatari army, which is supposed to protect the state, the regime and the people no longer has any role within the territory,” he noted.

“The Qatari regime does not seek to establish an army of its own people, because it does not trust them… When it felt weak, it sought the help of the West and asked for the assistance of Turks and Iranians,” according to Khalifa bin Mubarak.

Underlining “the Qatari youth’s anger at the regime’s practices at home and abroad,” he stressed the need for a change that would bring about unity and solidarity among the people.

“What is happening in Qatar today is horrifying and threatens the future of the country at all levels, in terms of embracing all terrorist symbols from different places, supporting the subversive groups, in addition to the full submission to Turkey, which is increasing day by day in a humiliating and unacceptable manner,” he warned.

“The cleansing of Qatar, and the end of the boycott will only happen when the structure of the regime is changed,” Khalifa bin Mubarak affirmed.

“It is likely to hear of a coup within the Qatari regime. This was previously done by the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, when he turned on his father and became the ruler,” he explained.



Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
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Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities.

Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden."

US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities.

In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah.

"Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,” Al-Eryani said.

The minister also spoke of "surprises” that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks.

Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”

“We’ve really damaged them,” he said, adding that “we’ve gotten many of their leaders and their experts.”

The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes “as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes."

Last week, Britain’s The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US.

Al-Eryani called for “keeping military, political, and economic pressure” on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for “supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory."
Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters.

Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country’s armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations.

Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.