Paul Barrell, the leader of French mercenary groups, revealed the details of a military invasion plan for Qatar that was under direct leadership from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 1996 after the failure of the coup attempt in Qatar that year.
The co-founder of "Ma Khafi Akadem", Tamer Hassal, managed to hold an exclusive interview with Paul Barrell, who for the first time speaks of this file, which has been kept secret for decades.
He said he tried to meet Barrell during his production of two previous episodes of the 1996 coup attempt, but he did not succeed then, and then managed to reach the end of a thread to Barrell.
UAE support
In his testimony to the program on Sunday evening, Barrell said the UAE had provided him with considerable support for the operation, hosted by his and his team at the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where many weapons were stored.
Baril and his team have also given official UAE passports to facilitate their movements away from sight, stressing that the current Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed - who was then Chief of Staff - is to grant them these passports.
He added that he had taken 40 of his team trained in a high degree in various military areas to prepare for the attack, and that in preparation for the operation he had benefited from his experience and previous relations with officials in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In 1979 he led the process of eliminating the Juhayman rebellion inside Mecca Sharif.
Invasion Plan
On the plan of action, Barrell explained that heavy weapons were brought from Egypt, while joint forces, including fleeing Qatari officers and military personnel, were trained in the UAE. While Saudi Arabia ensured the establishment of tribal militias, Bahrain was a station for Paul Barrell and his team to manage communications and wiretapping all that was going on in Doha.
Barrell revealed a private and confidential reconnaissance mission he personally undertook in early 1996, where he infiltrated the sea to Doha and photographed the areas that were among the targets; such as the Prince's House, the TV building and the security headquarters. These photos were published in Doha - For the first time during the episode.
Baril succeeded in bringing some 3,000 soldiers from Chad who were demobilized from the army in agreement with Chadian President Idriss Deby for $ 20 million to participate in the attack on Qatar. He revealed that the process of preparation for the attack cost in total about 100 million dollars.
End of operation
But what has affected the process - as Barrell said - is the contact of then French President Jacques Chirac personally to inform him of the need to stop any "folly." The decision to stop the invasion was the decision of Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani to stop it, after he told him that the death toll of up to a thousand people from the attack, Sheikh Khalifa decided to withdraw from the scene.
Baril said that the plan, if implemented, would have resulted in a "massacre," pointing out that his special team was tasked with securing Sheikh Khalifa and also arresting then-Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and eliminating then-Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor al-Thani. As well as a number of symbols of power and the ruling family.
At the end of the episode, the program's host Tamer revealed that access to Paul Barrell allowed him to open many of the secret boxes that the man has reserved for decades, in reference to his intention to open other files in the future associated with Paul Barrell.