Saudi princes detained amid coup allegations

SAUDI Arabia has detained three senior Saudi princes, including the younger brother of King Salman and the king’s nephew, for allegedly planning a coup, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — King Salman’s son and de facto ruler of the world’s top oil exporter and key US ally — has moved to consolidate power since ousting Mohammed bin Nayef as heir to the throne in a 2017 palace coup.

Later that year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MbS) arrested several royals and other prominent Saudis, holding them for months at Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel, in an “anti-corruption” campaign that caused shockwaves at home and abroad.

Sources told reporters that MbS “accused the princes of conducting contacts with foreign powers, including the Americans and others, to carry out a coup d’etat”, the regional source said.

“With these arrests, MbS consolidated his full grip on power. It’s over with this purge,” the source said, adding that the princes were accused of “treason”.

The Saudi government media office did not comment on the detentions, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The regional source said King Salman had approved the latest detentions, adding that the king is in a mental and physically sound state.

The 34-year-old MbS has fuelled resentment among some branches of the ruling family by tightening his grip on power. Some critics have questioned his ability to lead after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents and the largest-ever attack on Saudi oil infrastructure last year, sources have said.

MbS has staunch supporters within the royal Al Saud family, which numbers around 10,000 members.

The latest detentions come at a time of heightened tensions with Iran and as the crown prince implements economic reforms, including an initial public offering by oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The crown prince has been lauded at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom and trying to diversify the economy away from oil.

But he has come under international criticism over a devastating war in Yemen, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and the widespread detention of women’s rights activists seen as part of a crackdown on dissent.