2 hours ago
3
A Qatari military cargo plane carrying security staff in Italy to assist with law enforcement for the Winter Olympics struck a lighting tower on Sunday as it manoeuvred upon landing at Milan’s Malpensa airport, it has emerged.
The aircraft was carrying 104 personnel from the Gulf state’s elite security forces, plus huge jeeps and snowmobiles, as part of an agreement made with the Italian government, despite Qatar not competing in the games.
The arrival of Qatar’s security force comes amid controversy over the involvement of a unit of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one of the agencies embroiled in a brutal immigration crackdown in the US, in the security detail during the winter olympics, which begin on 6 February.
A source at the Italian interior ministry said Qatar’s security force was involved “mainly in a training” capacity. “Qatar is a fundamental partner in the security plan and any negative interpretation of the agreement is unfounded,” the source added.
The Italian government appears to be leaving no stone unturned when it comes to security during the Milano-Cortina Games, with the Qatari personnel and the agents from ICE joining a fleet of about 6,000 from various Italian police units.
But although they made a prominent arrival in Milan, any controversy over the Qatari involvement has so far been mute, or perhaps overshadowed by ICE.
The Qatari air force’s C-17 Globemaster II plane slightly hit the lighting tower after landing on Sunday while making “a wrong” manoeuvre during the “pushback” phase, Milano Today reported. A welcome ceremony involving Qatar’s ambassador in Italy and various Milan officials awaited the passengers as they disembarked.
Escorted by Italian patrol vehicles, a convoy of SUVs and armoured vehicles bearing the inscription “State of Qatar – Lekhwiya” (Lekhwiya is the name of Qatar’s elite security force) then made its way through the centre of Milan, passing landmarks including the Duomo, and briefly stopping at San Siro, where the opening ceremony of the Games will be held. The group of Qatari security personnel is expected to be split between Milan and Cortina.
Even though Qatar has no athletes competing at the event, the Qatari royal, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, who was this week elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia, will be attending. Al Thani also leads the Qatar Olympic Committee. Qatar has steadily been building its influence in Olympic sports. The country is due to host the Asian Games in 2030 and hoping to win its bid for the 2036 summer Olympics.
An anti-ICE protest, organised by various leftwing parties and unions, is planned in Milan on Saturday. Italy’s interior ministry has said the agency’s investigative unit will be involved in the security detail at the Games and not its immigration operation, whose crackdown in the US led to the fatal shootings this month of the US citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Italy’s far-right government is ideologically aligned with Donald Trump’s administration and the agents will reportedly act as “bodyguards” for the US vice-president, JD Vance, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who are expected to attend the event.
Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said ICE agents would not be welcome in the city “because they don’t guarantee they’re aligned with our democratic security management methods”. The city’s leftwing councillors held signs reading “No ICE” during a debate on Monday.
