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KSA Replaces Bandar Bin Sultan

KSA Replaces Bandar Bin Sultan
folder_openSaudi Arabia access_time9 years ago
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Local Editor

Saudi Arabia has replaced intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the kingdom's point man on the Syrian conflict, "at his own request", official news agency SPA announced Tuesday.

KSA Replaces Bandar Bin SultanIn a royal decree, the powerful official was "exempted... from his position at his own request" and replaced by his deputy, Yousef al-Idrissi.

Bandar, a former ambassador to the United States, is widely regarded as among the most influential powerbrokers in the Middle East.

But the veteran intelligence supremo went abroad for several months for health reasons, with diplomats saying he had been sidelined in Saudi efforts to support armed groups.

They said the file has been transferred to the interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who cracked down on al-Qaeda following a wave of deadly attacks in the Gulf state between 2003 and 2006.

Bandar's management of the Syria file had triggered American criticism, diplomats said.

The prince himself reproached Washington for its decision not to intervene militarily in Syria, and for preventing its allies from providing rebels with much-needed weapons, according to diplomats.

Media run by the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon have repeatedly lashed out at Bandar, accusing him of supporting terrorists in Syria.
The news comes after security officials told The Associated Press that 65-year-old Bandar was returning to the kingdom after around two months abroad for surgery on his shoulder.

Bandar was ambassador to the US for 22 years before becoming director general of Saudi Intelligence Agency in July 2012.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team