Saudi king removes commander of joint forces, officials at Ministry of Defense
SANAA, Sept. 1 (YPA) – Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Aal Saud issued an order to refer the commander of the joint forces to retirement and investigation, and a number of officers and civilian employees in the Ministry of Defense due to corruption files, exempting the deputy governor of Jawf region and referring him to investigation.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted a statement issued by the Royal Court in Riyadh, that the royal orders ended the service of Lieutenant General Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, commander of the joint forces, by referring him to retirement and referring him to investigation.
The orders “decided to assign Lt. Gen. Mutlaq bin Salem bin Mutlaq Al-Azima, with the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, to carry out the work of the Joint Forces Commander,” also included the referral of a number of officers and civil servants in the Ministry of Defense for investigation.
The royal orders also referred to the investigation of corruption cases, both of: Yusuf bin Rakan bin Hindi al-Otaibi, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim bin Muhammad al-Hassan, Faisal bin Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad al-Ajlan, and Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Khalifa.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the royal orders “exempted Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the deputy governor of Al-Jouf region, from his position, and referred him for investigation” on the background of his involvement in financial and administrative corruption cases.
The statement issued by the Royal Court indicated that “the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority will complete the investigation procedures with all military and civilians related to this, take the necessary legal measures against them, and raise what is reached.”
Observers commented that “the dismissal decision comes against the backdrop of the failure of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in Yemen, and the involvement of the coalition leaders in corrupt cases related to salaries of recruits and purchase of weapons and ammunition, and within the Crown Prince’s endeavor to establish his authority.”