Gunfire in Saudi Capital Prelude to Princes’ Moves against Bin Salman: Opposition Figure
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A prominent opposition figure in Saudi Arabia highlighted the widespread discontent among the Al Saud ruling family over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies and said a recent gunfire near the King Salman’s palace signals the beginning of princes’ moves against him.
“Discord within the royal family of Saudi Arabia has been revealed to the public and now, the first generation of the Al Saud is out of power,” Mohammad al-Bahrani told the Tasnim News Agency.
“The Al Saud regime is trying to hide the internal conflicts among members of the royal family, but the reality is that there has been intense disagreement among them,” he said.
The opposition figure further emphasized that Saudi Arabia is on the verge of turmoil caused by the conflicts in the Al Saud dynasty.
Bahrani added that the recent shooting near bin Salman’s palace in Riyadh would be definitely a prelude to new moves against him.
He further dismissed Saudi authorities’ claim that the shooting occurred when security forces tried to target a recreational drone, and said what happened was an attack on the king’s palace, which can be seen in footages of the incident circulated on the web.
Heavy gunfire was heard around the sprawling royal palace complex in Riyadh on Saturday night. The Saudi government said, in a statement, that security forces had shot down a recreational drone.
As photos and videos of the gunfire emerged on social media, London-based Saudi human rights activist Ghanem al-Masarir said that King Salman was moved to the King Khalid Military City in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
Some twitter accounts suggested a coup attempt was unfolding, while others dismissed this.
