<p>Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopened their land border Saturday, Qatari sources told AFP, as they restore ties following a landmark deal to end a three and a half year rift.</p>.<p>Saudi shut its side of Qatar's only land border in June 2017 as part of a package of sanctions it said was a response to Doha's backing for radical Islamist groups and closeness to Iran.</p>.<p>Qatar always denied the charges.</p>.<p>"Yes, the border is open," said one Qatari source, while another confirmed that traffic at the Abu Samrah crossing, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Doha, resumed around 0700 GMT.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt which also imposed an embargo on travel and trade, agreed to lift the restrictions at a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the kingdom on Tuesday.</p>.<p>On January 4, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah announced on state television that a deal had been agreed to "open the airspace and land and sea borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar".</p>.<p>"They are letting them go from the Qatar side," said a witness at the border on Saturday.</p>.<p>Qatar has announced strict coronavirus control measures for those arriving from the Saudi side that will require travellers to present a negative test result, undergo a fresh test at the frontier, and quarantine in a government-approved hotel for one week.</p>.<p>"It is a great joy, I bought this new car, a Land Cruiser, in order to go and celebrate with my relatives in Saudi Arabia, and I took the coronavirus test and waited here hoping they would allow us to cross at any moment," said Zaid Muhammad al-Marri, 23, a Qatari whose mother is Saudi, ahead of the border reopening.</p>
<p>Qatar and Saudi Arabia reopened their land border Saturday, Qatari sources told AFP, as they restore ties following a landmark deal to end a three and a half year rift.</p>.<p>Saudi shut its side of Qatar's only land border in June 2017 as part of a package of sanctions it said was a response to Doha's backing for radical Islamist groups and closeness to Iran.</p>.<p>Qatar always denied the charges.</p>.<p>"Yes, the border is open," said one Qatari source, while another confirmed that traffic at the Abu Samrah crossing, 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Doha, resumed around 0700 GMT.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt which also imposed an embargo on travel and trade, agreed to lift the restrictions at a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the kingdom on Tuesday.</p>.<p>On January 4, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah announced on state television that a deal had been agreed to "open the airspace and land and sea borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar".</p>.<p>"They are letting them go from the Qatar side," said a witness at the border on Saturday.</p>.<p>Qatar has announced strict coronavirus control measures for those arriving from the Saudi side that will require travellers to present a negative test result, undergo a fresh test at the frontier, and quarantine in a government-approved hotel for one week.</p>.<p>"It is a great joy, I bought this new car, a Land Cruiser, in order to go and celebrate with my relatives in Saudi Arabia, and I took the coronavirus test and waited here hoping they would allow us to cross at any moment," said Zaid Muhammad al-Marri, 23, a Qatari whose mother is Saudi, ahead of the border reopening.</p>