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Saudi King Removes Top Military Chiefs in Latest Overhaul

Saudi King Replaces Military Commanders as Yemen War Lingers on

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia replaced several top military commanders, including the chief of staff and the heads of ground and air forces, in the latest overhaul of traditional power centers in the oil-rich kingdom.

No reason was given for the changes, which were announced in a series of late-night royal decrees approved by King Salman on Monday. Several civilian officials, including deputy ministers, were also replaced.

Saudi King Removes Top Military Chiefs in Latest Overhaul

The Saudi military heads a coalition that’s been struggling for almost three years to regain control of Yemen from rebel fighters with ties to Iran. That intervention is part of a more assertive regional policy pursued by King Salman since he ascended to the throne three years ago.

The king and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, have also sought to tighten their grip at home -- consolidating powers that were once shared among an extended royal family. Senior princes and prominent businessmen were detained in November as part of a declared anti-corruption campaign. A new generation of bureaucrats close to the crown prince have been installed in senior posts.

‘New Directions’

The military overhaul may be part of that drive, according to Paul Sullivan, a Saudi specialist at Georgetown University in Washington. “It looks like the King and MBS want things to go in some new directions,” he said. “They may want more energetic and younger people to keep the pressure on Iran, in Syria and Yemen.”

Saudi-backed forces in Syria have largely been defeated by President Bashar al-Assad’s army, supported by Russia and Iran. In Yemen, the Saudis intervened in March 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government and roll back advances by the Houthi rebels, who’d taken control of the capital, Sana’a, and other cities. The conflict has created what United Nations officials have described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The changes to the armed forces were announced as Saudi officers and executives from dozens of global defense companies gather in the capital Riyadh for an arms fair.

Creating a domestic defense industry is a key goal of the kingdom’s plan to overhaul its economy and reduce its dependence on oil. In another decree Monday, the king approved a plan setting out a “vision and strategy” for the development of the Defense Ministry, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Replacing the military chiefs can be “put it in the broader context of MBS’s power consolidation push,” said Hani Sabra, founder of New York-based Alef Advisory. The crown prince is comfortable, even eager, to replace officials that he believes are unsuccessful, particularly if that failure could reflect poorly on him and his initiatives.”

King Salman also announced new personnel at several ministries, including the appointment of a woman as deputy minister for labor and social development. The government’s press office said that some military positions will be available to women for the first time.

To contact the reporters on this story: Glen Carey in Riyadh at gcarey8@bloomberg.net, Zaid Sabah in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel

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