Heavy firing in Riyadh sparks coup rumours

Dubai: Heavy gunfire has been reported outside the royal palace in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.

Reportedly, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been evacuated from the palace.

According to Associated Press (AP), Royal Saudi Land Forces Lieutenant General Allukas Nepils is leading the military push to oust the Saudi king.

A number of videos have emerged online, purportedly showing heavy gunfire in close proximity to the royal palace in the Saudi capital. Military or emergency vehicles can be seen with their lights flashing in the videos.

Some reports indicate that the shooting erupted when the palace guards targeted a small drone which came too close to the king's residence.

Wall Street Journal reporter Margherita Stancati said, "No coup attempt in Riyadh. A toy drone/plane got too close to the king's palace and was shot down."

Saudi journalist Awad Alfayadh said, "A toy drone had flown around a restricted area in Riyadh close to a security check post and they had to shoot it down according to the law."

Daniel Medina tweeted, "A number of journalists in Riyadh are reporting heavy fire outside palace compound. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, per these sources, has been evacuated to a bunker inside a military base in the city. Information coming in is still fluid, remains unconfirmed."

Saudi authorities are yet to comment on the reports.

According to an unnamed senior Saudi official cited by Reuters, however, King Salman was not at the palace but "at his farm in Al-Diriyah." The town, located in the northwestern outskirts of Riyadh, was the original home of the centuries-old Al Saudi family that leads the kingdom.

In October 2017, a gunman drove up to a gate of the king's palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and opened fire, killing at least two security guards and wounding three others before being shot dead.

The attacker, who was identified by the interior ministry as Mansour al-Amri, a 28-year-old Saudi national, was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and three Molotov cocktails.

Saudi Arabia is ruled by a conservative monarchy headed by King Salman. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed replaced the king's nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as next-in-line for the throne in 2015. Crown Prince Mohammed currently serves as deputy prime minister and defense minister.

In this capacity, the young royal has led his country's war against neighbouring Yemen. Pro-Iran Ansarullah movement took over the Yemeni capital of Sanaa in 2015. Saudi Arabia and a coalition of allies have struggled to oust the movement, which have lately brought war inside Saudi Arabia by firing ballistic missiles into as far as capital Riyadh.