GCC joint military exercises

The naval forces of the six Arab Gulf Cooperation Council states started today joint maneuvers in the Gulf using live ammunition under the name "The Solidarity of the Six." The maneuvers will last until October 15.

Qatar New Agency quoted the director of the operation department of the Qatari army, Maj. Gen. Saeed al-Abdullah, as saying on Friday that Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are taking part in these maneuvers.

The GCCs' assistant secretary general for military affairs, Faleh al-Shatti, has recently stressed that the armies of the GCC will carry out joint maneuvers and that no foreign participation will be represented as that of the joint force known as "the Sheikh of the peninsula."

This force, which was established in 1986, includes some 4,000 men and uses the "Hafer al-Batin" base in Saudi Arabia as its headquarters.