Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday to preserve their national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism.

The four countries also decided to close their borders for all Qatari transportation.

They gave Qatari diplomatic missions 48 hours to leave.

The four states also banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar and residing in it, and said Qatari nationals had 14 days to leave their territories for security and precautionary reasons.

Qatar has land borders with Saudi Arabia and is separated by Gulf waters from nearby Bahrain and the UAE.