RIYADH – Jordan’s royal palace has denied rumors of a coup plot thatsurfaced after King Abdullah last week relieved his siblings from top armyposts in a major shakeup.
The palace further said in a statement that it would take legal measuresagainst those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media andonline websites aimed at driving a wedge between the royal family andordinary Jordanians.
“These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordanand its institutions,” the palace said.
On December 26, the monarch said that his brothers Prince Ali and PrinceFaisal and his cousin Prince Talal would be retired to make a way for areorganization of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure.
Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff,while Prince Ali had been in charge of the royal guards responsible for theking’s protection for years.
Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elitespecial forces, was also relieved from his duties. They were all givenhonorary promotions.
An army source said the king’s decision was prompted by a desire to set anexample that the Hashemite ruling family was not above the law ahead of ananticipated move to dismiss scores of top army generals.
The restructuring plan aimed to reorganize the 120,000-strong army bycutting costs and creating a more lean and effective force better equippedto modern warfare against terrorist groups, the king who himself is anelite special forces commander said.
But reports recently said the three princes were arranging for a coup incooperation with the UAE and Saudi leadership. Amman categorically deniedthe claims.