Saudi government denies rumours of coup attempt

Saudi state media yesterday dismissed rumours of political unrest in Riyadh after unconfirmed reports of clashes and gunfire near the royal palace circulated on social media.

Security forces on Saturday night shot down a small drone flying over the capital’s Khozama district, Riyadh police said.

A police spokesman quoted by the official Saudi News Agency (SPA), said a security screening point noticed a small, unauthorised recreational drone and security forces dealt with it.

The statement was followed by videos on social media that featured sounds of gunfire in the district, triggering speculation of a possible coup attempt.

Officials confirmed that no one had been hurt, and King Salman was not at his palace at the time.

The government ruled out any major security breach but said that it had launched an investigation. The incident led to claims of an attempted coup by members of Saudi opposition groups.

Ghanem Al Masarir, a Saudi opposition activist based in London, tweeted the unverified video in which gunshots were heard, sparking the speculation.

The clip prompted many social media users to dismiss his claims of an attempted coup, saying the drone had simply flown too close to the palace, which triggered security officials to fire on it.

Hassan Al Sajwani, a prominent Emirati writer, said: “There is no coup attempt in Riyadh and the clip published is a fake. The sound is dubbed on the same clip differently, watch the same visuals with birds humming at night.”

In 2015, the Saudi civil authority banned the use of drones of all “types and sizes” without prior permits.

“Please don’t make the subject into a big issue, a man was using an unlicensed drone that got close to a sensitive area and security men had to shoot it. Simple,” Omar Al Jaaeman, a presenter on Abu Dhabi Sports Television, said on Twitter.

In Qatar, state-owned Al Jazeera broadcast the unverified video in an attempt to spread the rumour that there was political unrest in the kingdom, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said.