King Abdullah, l, and former Crown Prince Hamza
Jordanian authorities raided the palace of the kingdom’s former crown prince on Saturday and arrested two senior aides after uncovering what intelligence officials believe was an attempted coup against the ruling monarch, King Abdullah. The former chief of the royal court Bassem Awadallah, Prince Hamza’s chief of staff Yasser Majali and former Jordanian envoy to Saudi Arabia Hassan Bin Zayed are among those in custody related to the coup attempt.
Former Jordanian Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein has reportedly been placed under house arrest, although Jordanian officials deny he’s under arrest.
Military chief Yusef Ahmed al-Hunait said in a statement that he had been “asked to stop movements and activities that were used to target the security and stability of Jordan”.
Abdullah, who has ruled the kingdom since the death of his father, King Hussein, in 1999, had not been thought to have faced serious organised opposition throughout his two-decade reign. The kingdom had widely been viewed as a bastion of stability in an otherwise turbulent region.
Jordan has been a close and reliable US ally under the reign of King Abdullah. “We are closely following the reports and in touch with Jordanian officials,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has our full support.”