Turkey sends warship to Qatar for 2022 World Cup security operation

Turkey has sent a warship to Qatar as part of security operations for the football World Cup set to begin next month, the Turkish defence ministry said Saturday.

Turkey sent the TCG Burgazada ship to Doha from the port city of Izmir to participate in Operation World Cup Shield, a security operation taking place for the 20 November-18 December tournament.

Turkey, a close regional ally of Qatar, approved a motion earlier this month to deploy troops to the Gulf country for six months.

Fikri Isik, a ruling party legislator and former Turkish defence minister, said the deployment would involve 250 troops and a corvette-class naval vessel, like the TCG Burgazada.

TCG BURGAZADA, 1 Kasım-18 Aralık 2022 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilecek “FIFA-2022 Dünya Kupası Kalkanı Harekâtı”na katılmak amacıyla, Foça’da düzenlenen tören ile Katar’a uğurlandı.#MSB pic.twitter.com/yHlPwM4VgH

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) October 15, 2022

The troop deployment would be in addition to around 3,000 riot police Turkey said it would send to Qatar to reinforce security at World Cup stadiums and hotels during the international football competition.

Turkish police going to Qatar are also being taught English and given guidance about what to expect when they arrive in the Gulf state, according to reports.

The upcoming World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country, as flights in and out of Doha are expected to increase by more than 50%, from 700 to 1,600 per day.

Qatar expects to host more than 1 million visitors over the course of the tournament.