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Saudi Military Leaders Sacked As War In Yemen Hits Stalemate

Saudi Arabia has fired its military chief of staff in a shake-up apparently aimed at overhauling the defence ministry during the ruinous war in Yemen.

It also announced the appointment of a female minister as it tries to broaden the role of women in the workplace in the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom.

Saudi Arabia announced the latest appointments and firings in a series of late night royal decrees carried out by the official Saudi Press Agency.

It said King Salman "approved the document on developing the ministry of defence, including the vision and strategy of the ministry's developing programme, the operational pattern targeting its development, the organisational structure, governance and human resources requirements".

Prominent among the personnel changes was the firing of military chief of staff General Abdulrahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan.

He will become a consultant to the royal court and was replaced by General Fayyadh bin Hamid al-Rwaili, a former commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

The appointment of Tamadhir bint Yosif al-Rammah as deputy minister of labour and social development comes as the Kingdom prepares to allow women to drive this year.

The decisions come as a Saudi-led coalition, chiefly backed by the United Arab Emirates, remains mired in a stalemate in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country.