(CNN) Saudi Arabia has replaced a number of top military commanders in a late-night political reshuffle Monday that saw the country's monarch issue 39 royal decrees.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) s aid that Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud had issued the orders that included reshuffles for the positions of chief of general staff and the commanders of the country's air defense force, land forces and strategic missiles force.

The decrees related to military appointments were issued "based on recommendations of the Minister of Defense," according to one of the royal decrees.

The current Defense Minister is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is first in line to inherit the throne from his 82-year-old father, King Salman.

The 32-year-old is seen as a key power player behind the king and a reformer by Saudi standards.

Saudi Arabia has waged a years-long military campaign in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government that the Houthi rebels drove out of the capital, Sanaa.

Since his appointment some restrictions on women have been eased and last year, the Crown Prince vowed to destroy "extremist ideologies" in a bid to return to "a more moderate Islam."

A day before the military reshuffle, Saudi Arabia announced that it would open its military to female employment for the first time.

"The General Directorate of Public Security announces military jobs for females at the rank of soldier," the kingdom's General Directorate of Public Security said in an advert on its official Twitter account on Sunday.</s>Saudi Arabia's King Salman has fired his top military commanders and reshuffled his cabinet in a shake-up of key security and government ministries.

Those dismissed by royal decree overnight on Tuesday included the Saudi army's chief of staff, and the heads of the ground and air defence forces.

First Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwayli was appointed the new chief of staff, while Tamadur bint Youssef al-Ramah was appointed as deputy labour minister in a rare senior post for a woman in the kingdom.

Prince Turki bin Talal - the brother of Alwaleed bin Talal - a billionaire businessman who was detained for months by the government on allegations of corruption - was also appointed to a deputy governor position.

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No official reason has been given for the overhaul, but it comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing criticism against the military coalition it leads in the Yemen war.

The developments also come amid a series of changes led by country's 32-year-old Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (also known as MBS), who has vowed to transform both Saudi Arabia's culture and economy.

MBS was appointed crown prince in June 2017 when King Salman, his father, implemented a major government shake-up.

'MBS is coming soon'

Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor of Arab politics, said that while many see a link between the Saudi reshuffle and the war in Yemen, the move signals changes to come within the kingdom's internal politics.

"This development tells us one thing: the new king [MBS] is coming sooner rather than later," Zweiri told Al Jazeera.

"It seems that he's setting the platform for his son to rule - we've witnessed serious changes to the economy, attempts to fight corruption and so on," he added.

Zweiri further explained that Saudi Arabia has a strategy it is following in Yemen and that a government reshuffle does not necessarily mean its policy in the war would change.

Saudi Arabia entered the Yemen war in 2015 when it launched a military offensive after Houthi rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, and large swathes of the impoverished country a year earlier.

Due to the high civilian death toll, the kingdom has been under fire to alter its strategy in the war.

Repairing Saudi's image?

Commenting on the appointment of Alwaleed's brother, Zweiri said he believes Saudi may be trying to repair its image, after it launched an arrest campaign of royal family members, ministers and top businessmen in November 2017.

"It's all political - they're trying to send a message that we're not against him [Alwaleed] - and that despite what we did, he's still one of us," said Zweiri.

More importantly, said Zweiri, the government reshuffle is aimed at bringing those closer to MBS to power in a bid to promote "a new way of thinking".

Since MBS' appointment as crown prince, Saudi announced it would end its long-standing ban on allowing women to drive, and major economic reforms seeking to privatise the economy have been introduced.

"I think we are going to see more changes in personnel both within [the] military as well as civilian administration, simply because he is putting in his own people and he wants to project a certain image of the kingdom," James Dorsey, senior fellow at the S Raja Ratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, told Al Jazeera.

"One has to keep in mind that in effect the crown prince has changed the government structure of Saudi Arabia," he said, adding that it's a one-man rule as opposed to the past when decisions were taken by consensus.</s>Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia's King Salman replaced several top military commanders in a series of late-night royal decrees Monday.

The military's chief of staff and the heads of ground and air forces were terminated and several civilian officials, including deputy ministers, also were replaced.

The military changes were carried out on recommendation of Minister of Defense Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"These appointments were part of a normal rotation in line with the new Ministry of Defense development plan. While some senior officers who had reached retirement age left the service, others were promoted or moved to newly created positions," the Saudi Arabian government told NBC News.

King Salman also named new personnel at several ministries including selecting a woman as deputy minister for labor.

Women began registering to join the Persian Gulf nation's armed forces Monday days after it was announced that women are now eligible to join.</s>King Salman also announced new personnel at several ministries. (File)</s>The monarch replaces the heads of the ground forces and air defenses, as well as civilian officials including several deputy ministers, in a series of late-night royal decrees

RIYADH Saudi Arabia – Saudi King Salman on Monday, February 26, replaced top military commanders including the chief of staff, state media said, in a major shake-up of the kingdom's defense establishment.

No official reason was given for the sweeping overhaul, but it comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues military reform and a bloody campaign against Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels nears the end of its third year.

"Termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced, adding that Fayyad al-Ruwaili had been appointed as his replacement.

Al-Bunyan was retired after he inaugurated an arms exhibition this week in Riyadh by the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the state-owned defense company, which has drawn several global defense firms.

"A military transformation is underway in Saudi Arabia," Theodore Karasik, a senior advisor at the consultancy Gulf States Analytics, told Agence France-Presse.

"The changes come on the heels of the SAMI exhibition, which is a critical part of the Prince Mohammed's reform plan to create an indigenous defense program," he added,

Crown Prince Mohammed, the son of the monarch and heir to the throne, is the country's defense minister and has been consolidating his grip on power in recent months while pushing major economic and social reforms.

The young prince has pursued an assertive regional policy, including leading a military intervention in neighboring Yemen since 2015 that is seen as a proxy war with arch-rival Iran.

The Yemen conflict has led to what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

More than 9,200 people have been killed in the conflict and another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera, according to the World Health Organization.

King Salman also decreed a series of civilian appointments that saw younger officials being elevated to key positions as deputy ministers, deputy provincial governors and royal court advisors.

Tamadar bint Yousef al-Ramah was appointed the deputy minister of labour and social development, a rare senior government post for a woman in the conservative kingdom.

Prince Turki bin Talal, the brother of billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, was appointed deputy governor of the southern Assir Province.

Prince Al-Waleed, dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, was among princes, ministers and tycoons detained in Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in an unprecedented crackdown on what the government calls elite corruption.

The Ritz-Carlton reopened for business on February 11, more than three months after becoming a gilded prison for Saudi elites. – Rappler.com</s>
• 85,000 displaced in 10 weeks as violence rages in Yemen: UN

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has fired the kingdom's military chief of staff and several other high ranking military officers.Citing several royal decrees, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced "the termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff" on Monday night.The director of the kingdom's ground forces and air defenses were also replaced.Since March 2015, the Saudi regime, together with a coalition of its allies, has been heavily bombarding Yemen as part of a brutal campaign against its impoverished southern neighbor.Read More:The Saudi campaign has killed at least 13,600 people since its onset. Furthermore, much of the country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and factories, has been reduced to rubble in the Saudi war.</s>Saudi Arabia’s King Salman reshuffled some of the kingdom’s top military officers and several deputy ministers on Monday in a broad shakeup seen as elevating younger officials in key economic and security areas.

 The chief of staff was retired and replaced by First Lieutenant General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwayli while new chiefs were appointed to the country’s air defense and land forces, according to royal decrees published by state media.

 Several new deputies in economic and security-related ministries as well as a handful of new city mayors were appointed, including Tamadur bint Youssef al-Ramah as deputy labor minister, a rare senior post for a woman in the deeply conservative kingdom.

 PM sanctioned troop deployment to Saudi Arabia for ‘advisory purpose’

 The decrees also included the appointment of three deputy governors from among the descendants of Princes Ahmed, Talal and Muqrin – brothers of King Salman, some of whom may have felt sidelined by recent changes since his accession to the throne in 2015.

 One of them, new deputy governor of Asir province, Prince Turki bin Talal, is the brother of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was detained in the government’s anti-corruption campaign and only released last month.

 The way Saudi Arabia is run has seen major changes under 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who rocketed to the heights of power from near obscurity after his father became king following the death of King Abdullah in 2015 and is pushing big economic and social reforms.

 He is popular with many Saudi youths, who make up the vast majority of the population, but has irked some with his unconventional approach, including a palace coup last summer in which he pushed out his cousin to become heir to the throne.

 Saudi analyst Ahmed al-Towayan, speaking on Saudi state television, said the new appointments were “pumping young blood” into local government while elevating young commanders into top military posts. —Reuters</s>Saudi King Salman has sacked the military chief of staff and a host of other commanders in a major shake-up, state media said Monday citing a series of royal decrees.

"Termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said, adding that Fayyad al-Ruwaili had been appointed as his replacement.

The monarch also replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences.

No official reason was given for the changes, but they come as the kingdom's bloody conflict with Yemen's Houthi rebels nears the end of its third year.

Several new deputies in economic and security-related ministries as well as a handful of new city mayors were appointed, including Tamadur bint Youssef al-Ramah as deputy labour minister, a rare senior post for a woman in the deeply conservative kingdom.

The decrees also included the appointment of three deputy governors from among the descendants of Princes Ahmed, Talal and Muqrin - brothers of King Salman, some of whom may have felt sidelined by recent changes since his accession to the throne in 2015.

One of them, new deputy governor of Asir province, Prince Turki bin Talal, is the brother of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was detained in the government's anti-corruption campaign and only released last month.

The new appointments came as the Saudi-led military campaign across the kingdom's southern border continues with the UN describing the situation Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the heir to the throne and the son of the monarch, is the country's defence minister and has been consolidating his grip on power in recent months.

He is popular with many Saudi youths, who make up the vast majority of the population, but has irked some with his unconventional approach, including a palace coup last summer in which he pushed out his cousin to become heir to the throne.

Saudi analyst Ahmed al-Towayan, speaking on Saudi state television, said the new appointments were "pumping young blood" into local government while elevating young commanders into top military posts.</s>Saudi Arabia replaced several top military commanders, including the chief of staff and the heads of ground and air forces, in the latest overhaul of traditional power centers in the oil-rich kingdom.

No reason was given for the changes, which were announced in a series of late-night royal decrees approved by King Salman on Monday. Several civilian officials, including deputy ministers, were also replaced.

The Saudi military heads a coalition that’s been struggling for almost three years to regain control of Yemen from rebel fighters with ties to Iran. That intervention is part of a more assertive regional policy pursued by Salman since he ascended to the throne three years ago.

The king and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, have also sought to tighten their grip at home – consolidating powers that were once shared out among an extended royal family. Senior princes and prominent businessmen were arrested in November as part of an anti-corruption campaign. A new generation of bureaucrats close to the crown prince have been installed in senior posts.

The military overhaul may be part of that drive, according to Paul Sullivan, a Saudi specialist at Georgetown University in Washington. “It looks like the King and MBS want things to go in some new directions,” he said. “They may want more energetic and younger people to keep the pressure on Iran, in Syria and Yemen.”

Saudi-backed forces in Syria have largely been defeated by President Bashar al-Assad’s army, supported by Russia and Iran. In Yemen, the Saudis intervened in March 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government and roll back advances by the Houthi rebels, who’d taken control of the capital, Sana’a, and other cities. The conflict has been described by United Nations officials as among the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The changes to the armed forces were announced as Saudi officers and executives from dozens of global defense companies gather in the capital Riyadh for an arms fair.

Creating a domestic defense industry is a key goal of the kingdom’s plan to overhaul its economy and reduce its dependence on oil. In another decree on Monday, the king approved a plan setting out a “vision and strategy” for the development of the Defense Ministry, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

King Salman also announced new personnel at several ministries, including the appointment of a woman as deputy minister for labor and social development. The government’s press office said that some military positions will be available to women for the first time.</s>Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has sacked its top military commanders, including the Chief of Staff, in a series of late-night royal decrees, media reports said. The sackings come as the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting rebels, is nearing the end of its third year.

A series of political appointments were also announced at the same time, including the rare appointment of a female Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development, Tamadar bint Yousef al-Ramah. Saudi King Salman also replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences. The news was published by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), but no reason for the sackings was given.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the Defence Minister, is believed to be behind various shake-ups in the country, the BBC reported. The service of the Chief of Staff, General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, is among those “terminated”, said the SPA. Various military figures have already been promoted to replace those sacked.

Prince Turki bin Talal was appointed new Deputy Governor of the south-west Asir province. He is the brother of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was detained in the anti-corruption drive and released two months later. Last year dozens of prominent Saudi figures, including princes, ministers and billionaires, were locked up in Riyadh’s five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel as the prince led a drive against corruption and abuse of power.

This is another sweeping overhaul of Saudi institutions that has become the hallmark of the reign of King Salman, although the driving force is once again his son and heir, Crown Prince. The Saudi intervention in the Yemen conflict was his initiative – one of the first indications of just how dramatically he was going to break away from the country’s traditional caution.

The BBC report said the initiative has so far failed, even though it has forced the Houthi rebels out of the south of Yemen and allowed the ousted government to re-establish a foothold. The cost for Yemen itself has been a humanitarian disaster, while it has also drained Saudi coffers in a time of austerity.
Saudi King Salman replaces top army commanders and reshuffles key security and government ministries.