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> (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> 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> 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> 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’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> King Salman also announced new personnel at several ministries. (File) </s> Saudi Arabia named Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son, as crown prince by royal decree on Wednesday, the official Saudi Press Agency announced.

Prince Mohammed, 31, replaces Muhammad bin Nayef as the heir-apparent to King Salman, 81, who assumed the throne in January 2015. Bin Nayef, a nephew of the king's, was also removed as deputy premier and interior minister. Prince Mohammed will remain defense minister, the press agency said.

No reason for the replacement was immediately announced, but Prince Mohammed, not Bin Nayef, was tapped to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in March, a meeting that was widely hailed as a success in Saudi Arabia.

Related: Dueling Princes: One Saudi Gets Lunch With Trump, His Rival Gets a Medal

The crown prince is often depicted as a reform-minded technocrat devoted to building the kingdom's economy beyond the oil industry.

And as defense minister, bin Salman has pursued a war in neighboring Yemen, leading forces from other Arab states to put down a rebellion by Iran-linked Houthi rebels. Rising civilian Yemeni casualties have garnered international condemnation of Saudi Arabia.

Last year, Prince Mohammed visited Silicon Valley to sell his vision of market-oriented reforms and a transformation of the kingdom's society.

"This guy is all about change,” Saudi analyst Ahmad Al-Ibrahim told NBC News in November as Prince Mohammed was promoting modernization of Saudi Arabia's economy as a way to modernize the desert kingdom's ultra-conservative social structure.

The prince has “huge ambitions and a Western mindset that he wants to apply to Saudi Arabia," Al-Ibrahim said at the time. </s> Saudi Arabia has removed Muhammad bin Nayef as the crown prince and replaced him with Mohammed bin Salman in a dramatic changeover in the ultra-conservative kingdom's royal family. Bin Salman was previously the country's defence minister and was deputy crown prince.

The stripped monarch, Bin Nayef, a familiar face in Washington, was overseeing Saudi Arabia's powerful interior ministry in charge of the security affairs of the kingdom.

According to a royal decree released on Wednesday, 21 June, from Riyadh and carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Bin Salman has also been appointed as the deputy prime minister and will retain his defence portfolio. Bin Salman's quick rise to become the first in line to the throne was suspected to be in the pipeline.

The surprise royal shake-up has come just as when the volatile region is undergoing a turbulent period after Saudi-led Arab nations launched a diplomatic campaign against Qatar.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated regularly as new information and developments become available.

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Saudi King Salman replaces top army commanders and reshuffles key security and government ministries.