Tributes pour in as Oman mourns Sultan Qaboos

(FASTNEWS | MUSCAT) – World leaders and the people of Oman have paid tributes to Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler who died on Friday at 79.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Prince of Wales have arrived in Muscat for a condolence ceremony as the country marks three days of mourning.

Widely seen as popular, Qaboos set Oman on a path to development after coming to power in a bloodless coup in 1970.

His cousin Haitham bin Tariq Al Said has been sworn in as successor.

Qaboos had no heir or publicly designated successor, and the family council had three days to choose one. But in an apparent swift and smooth transition, they opted to open the sealed envelope in which the late sultan had secretly left his own choice.

Crowds gathered at the capital’s Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque on Saturday before Qaboos was buried in a family cemetery. No cause of death has been confirmed but media reports suggest he was suffering from colon cancer.