Saudi Arabia 'arrests three members of royal family'

Three senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family, including King Salman's brother, have been arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the secretive kingdom's leadership.

According to the Wall Street Journal, guards from the royal court detained Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Nawaf bin Nayef, at their homes before charging them with treason.

Saudi officials are yet to respond to the reports, which appear to be part of a wider attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's favourite son and de facto Saudi ruler, to consolidate power.

A source told the Wall Street Journal that the arrests took place on Friday morning.

The Crown Prince also arrested nearly a dozen senior royals in 2017, supposedly in a crackdown on corruption, after ousting Mohammed bin Nayef, who at that time was heir to the throne.

Prince Mohammed is said to have alienated swathes of the ruling family since taking power, and some have questioned whether he is fit to rule after he was accused of ordering the murder of a respected journalist in Turkey who had publicly criticised him, something that he strenuously denied.

The murder sparked an international outcry and furious condemnation of the Saudi state and Prince Mohammed, who has otherwise attempted to present himself as a progressive, reformist leader.

Though reports of a coup attempt were not confirmed, a handful of Saudi royals are reportedly trying to change the line of succession, with some regarding Prince Ahmed, King Salman's only surviving full brother, as one option.

However, Saudi insiders and western diplomats told Reuters news agency it was unlikely the Crown Prince would be deposed while King Salman, 84, is still alive.

Prince Ahmed has largely kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after two years abroad. During the trip, he appeared to criticize the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence calling for the downfall of the Al Saud dynasty.

He was one of only three people on the Allegiance Council, made up of the ruling Al Saud family's senior members, who opposed Mohammed bin Salman becoming crown prince in 2017.

The latest detentions come at a time of heightened tension with regional rival Iran and as Crown Prince Mohammed pushes for ambitious social and economic reforms.

Prince Mohammed has been lauded at home for easing social restrictions in the Muslim kingdom and opening up the economy.

But he has come under international criticism over the Saudis' devastating war in Yemen, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate and the detention of women's rights activists as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.