Arab powers draw up Qatari blacklist

Arab states that have isolated Qatar tightened their squeeze on Friday by putting dozens of figures with links to the country on terrorism blacklists, while Qatar's ally Turkey rushed to its side with plans to send troops, warships and planes.

The developments intensified a confrontation between tiny-but-wealthy Qatar and a group of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt that accuse it of fomenting instability.

The dispute has created a major diplomatic test for the United States, which is a close ally of the countries on both sides.

In an apparent escalation of the crisis, staff at Al Jazeera, Qatar's influential satellite television news channel which often infuriates the rulers of the Arab world, said its computer systems had come under cyber attack.

Riyadh, Cairo and their allies accuse Qatar, the world's richest country per capita, of supporting militant Islamist movements across the region.

They have imposed what Qatar says is a blockade of shipping and air traffic, and closed Qatar's only land border, causing panic buying at supermarkets and provoking confusion and anxiety across the population.

Qatar, which has developed an assertive foreign policy over the past decade, denies that it supports militants and says it is helping to reduce the threat of terrorism by backing groups that fight poverty and seek political reform.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the moves by Arab neighbours and others "clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law.

"They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one," the minister said during a visit to Germany.