Dubai: Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said died on Friday evening, state media said early on Saturday without mentioning a cause of death.
Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Sultan Qaboos's cousin, has been named as the new ruler of Oman.
File photo Haitham bin Tareq al Said
A three-day period of official mourning for the public and private sectors has been declared, and flags are to be flown at half mast for 40 days, state media said.
Oman state news agency ONA said Qaboos died after “a wise and triumphant march rich with generosity that embraced Oman and extended to the Arab, Muslim and entire world and achieved a balanced policy that the whole world respected.”
Qaboos had been unwell for years and had spent a week in Belgium undergoing medical treatment in early December.
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