Dubai: A roundup of Saudi royals and aides could widen after it was reported that four senior princes including two of the most prominent members of the royal family have been detained in the Saudi capital of Riyadh for allegedly plotting a coup.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the sweep is likely to be broadened to include dozens of interior ministry officials, senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt.
Earlier it was reported by some US media outlet that two senior members of the royal family were detained over an alleged coup plot. Prince Nayef bin Ahmed, a former army head of intelligence, were also among those being held.
There has been no official comment from Saudi authorities on the arrests.
“Still there are some kinds of rumours and innuendos that there’s turmoil within the family in the form of criticism, but that doesn’t justify being arrested as criminals, with masked security forces coming to their rooms and yanking them out of their private residences,” Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera.
It has been widely known that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has a reputation of cracking down opponents.
According to the Washington post, the crown prince has been consolidating his power over the past couple of years, seeking to disarm critics and silence dissent at home and abroad.
While he has succeeded in concentrating authority in his own hands to a degree that’s highly unusual in the kingdom, it’s unclear what kind of opposition he might face to becoming king when his elderly father dies. It is also uncertain what may have prompted the reported detentions.
Some Saudi commentators said the arrests suggest rifts within the royal family over the succession of the crown prince, whose strong-arm tactics have alienated many princes.
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