Qatar- Oman's Sultan Qaboos dies Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur named successor

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one of the Middle East's longest serving rulers who maintained the country's neutrality in regional struggles, died on Friday and state media said. Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said was named his successor.




Members of the Omani military carrying the coffin of Sultan Qaboos during his funeral at the Grand Mosque in the capital Muscat. Sultan Qaboos. Image grab taken from Oman TV





Oman declared three days of official mourning with flags to be flown at half-mast for 40 days.


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Amir declares 3 days mourning



His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani declared 3 days of national mourning in Qatar on the occasion of the passing away of Sultan Qaboos. ______________________



State television broadcast images of the funeral procession driving down a road lined with palm trees. The casket, draped in the Omani flag, was then carried into Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the capital Muscat, where prayers were being held.




Sultan Sayed Haitham bin Tariq Al Said



Sultan Qaboos had been unwell for years and spent a week in Belgium for treatment last month.


Sultan Haitham bin Tariq was appointed on Saturday. He had served as minister of national heritage and culture and had been appointed in 2013 by Sultan Qaboos to chair the main committee responsible for Oman's development.





Condolences started pouring in for Sultan Qaboos.


Former US President George W. Bush said in a statement that Qaboos had been a stable force in the Middle East.


Oman's diplomatic centrality has been a factor of Qaboos' personality, said Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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