King Salman of Saudi Arabia has sacked his most senior military commanders, including the chief of staff, according to state media, with a series of late-night royal decrees.
He also replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences, as well as civilian officials including several deputy ministers.
No official reason was given for the overhaul, but it comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues military reform and as a bloody campaign against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels nears the end of its third year.
The sudden, sweeping shake-up fits similar moves in other areas of public life and has become the hallmark of King Salman’s reign.
He is expected to visit the UK next month and could face protests about his armed forces’ actions in Yemen.
Reuters
"Termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced, adding that Fayyad al-Ruwaili had been appointed as his replacement.
Al-Bunyan was retired after he inaugurated an arms exhibition this week in Riyadh by the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the state-owned defence company, which has drawn several global defence firms.
"A military transformation is under way in Saudi Arabia," Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser at the consultancy Gulf States Analytics, told AFP.
"The changes come on the heels of the SAMI exhibition, which is a critical part of the Prince Mohammed’s reform plan to create an indigenous defence program," he added.
Crown Prince Mohammed, the son of the monarch and heir to the throne, is the country’s defence minister and has been consolidating his grip on power in recent months while pushing major economic and social reforms.
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The young prince has pursued an assertive regional policy, including leading a military intervention in neighbouring Yemen since 2015 that is seen as a proxy war with arch-rival Iran.
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The Yemen conflict has led to what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
More than 9,200 people have been killed in the conflict and another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera, according to the World Health Organisation.
King Salman also decreed a series of civilian appointments that saw younger officials being elevated to key positions as deputy ministers, deputy provincial governors and royal court advisers.
Tamadar bint Yousef al-Ramah was appointed the deputy minister of labour and social development, a rare senior government post for a woman in the conservative kingdom.
Prince Turki bin Talal, the brother of billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, was appointed deputy governor of the southern Assir Province.
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