4th member of Saudi ruling family arrested over coup plot

Saudi Arabia has detained a fourth member of the Aal-e Saud clan in a new purge of ruling family members over an alleged coup attempt to unseat King Salman bin Abdulaziz Aal-e Saud and his heir apparent Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

According to Press TV, two Saudis close to the ruling family said Nayef bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz had been arrested on Saturday.

He was the fourth member taken into custody after the detention of his father Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, along with former heir apparent Mohammed bin Nayef and his half-brother Nawaf on Friday.

Nayef has held positions in both the Saudi Interior Ministry and the military. A Saudi military website still lists him in his former role as the head of army intelligence.

The arrests came just days after Ahmed, the king's only surviving full brother and a potential rival to MBS, had returned from a falcon hunting trip abroad. His son, Nayef, was with him at the time, a person close to the family said.

Ahmed was one of only three people on the Saudi Allegiance Council who opposed MBS becoming the heir apparent in 2017.

In 2018, he made comments critical of the heir apparent to protesters chanting for the downfall of the Aal-e Saud dynasty in London, but later said he had been misinterpreted.

Mohammed bin Nayef was next in line to succession before he was suddenly replaced by MBS in 2017. Since being ousted, Nayef has effectively been under house arrest and prevented from leaving the country.

Three sources with knowledge of the crackdown, including a regional source, said Mohammed bin Nayef and Nawaf had been picked up at a private desert camp.

The arrests have sparked speculations that aging Salman is about to die or abdicate. 

SS