Saudi King's brother, former Crown Prince among royals arrested
In what is believed to be the latest crackdown by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), a fourth prince was reportedly arrested on Saturday. The development comes a day after it was reported that three royals were detained for planning a coup. Incidentally, among those detained is Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud—one of the last surviving sons of the first Saudi King.
Prince Ahmed, his nephews, detained on Friday
According to several reports, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his nephews former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Nawaf bin Nayef were detained on Friday. On Saturday, the Saudi Crown Prince—the Kingdom's de facto ruler—ordered the arrest of a former head of army intelligence, Prince Nayef bin Ahmed, The New York Times reported citing two Saudis close to the royal family.
Prince Ahmed, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef plotting a coup: Report
Citing sources, NYT reported that the Crown Prince had lost his patience with those detained after he heard they were complaining about him in family gatherings. Sources told Bloomberg that the royal court told members of the allegiance council that Prince Ahmed and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef had been plotting a coup. The allegiance council is a group of royals that votes on succession.
Crown Prince has 'little fear' of coup
However, according to NYT, several people close to the matter said that the Crown Prince had "little fear" of a coup since he "already controls all the levers of power inside the kingdom"—including the military, internal security forces, and the national guard.
MBS senses other royals do not accept him: Ex-US official
Speaking to Bloomberg on the matter, a former United States Department of State official Nabeel Khoury said, "Clearly [the Crown Prince] has not satisfied the elders, the people around him in the extended family." Referring to rifts in the royal family, Khoury added, "He hasn't reached a kind of accommodation with them whereby he can sense that they can accept him."
Recent arrests to create more tensions in Kingdom's hierarchy
Reportedly, the detention of Prince Ahmed is not expected to go down well. Prince Ahmed is Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's full brother and was once viewed as a potential candidate to the throne. He is also a senior member of the allegiance council. The recent arrests are reflective of how far MBS would go to stir fear within the Kingdom's hierarchy.
Kingdom's public image has taken a hit in recent years
When coupled with the past deeds of MBS, the recent arrests are also expected to leave a dent on the global image of the Kingdom. The murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 had invited an immense backlash. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos had also alleged that MBS personally hacked his phone, tarnishing the Kingdom's image.
