BREAKING: #Saudis close schools, suspend flights in #Najran after #Houthi attacks

Smoke billows after an air strike hit the international airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa May 4, 2015

Mortar shells fired by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen struck the Saudi border town of Najran on Tuesday, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to warn it would hit back.

التحالف العربي: الحوثيون يستهدفون «نجران» السعودية بقذائف الهاون

The Al-Ekhbariya state television showed images of parked cars with windows blown out, chunks torn out of the sidewalk, a building peppered with shrapnel, and one room completely charred and with a hole in the roof.

The attack was confirmed by the coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against the Huthi Shiite rebels and their allies in Yemen since March 26.

أعلن المتحدث باسم التحالف العربي العميد أحمد عسيري، أن جماعة الحوثيين استهدفت اليوم الثلاثاء، المنطقة الحدودية في نجران السعودية بقذائف الهاون.

Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri told Al-Ekhbariya that the rebels had "randomly" shelled Najran "hitting hospitals, schools and civilian homes."

In a statement on Twitter, Saudi Airlines announced that "all our flights from and to Najran were suspended today until further notice."

وأعتبر عسيري في تصريحات لفضائية «سي بي سي إكسترا»، أن ما حدث اليوم يأتي في إطار الفوضى التي تصنعها مليشيا الحوثي.

Al-Ekhbariya reported that schools had been closed in the city.

"Air and ground forces will respond in the right way to these hazardous acts and will not allow them to be repeated," Assiri said.

The Saudi military had already deployed Apache combat helicopters to target the rebels in the border area, he added.

جدير بالذكر، أن دولا عربية وإسلامية، على رأسها السعودية تشن ضربات عسكرية ضد أهداف حوثية باليمن وذلك في أعقاب الإنقلاب على الرئيس عبدربه منصور هادي والإستيلاء على مقرات تابعة للجيش اليمني.

Saudi Arabia has reinforced the frontier with artillery, tanks and hilltop lookout posts to block any Huthi incursion from their traditional highland stronghold just across the border.

Its ground forces have repeatedly clashed with the rebels near its border with Yemen and its helicopters have been involved in the military action.

Saudi forces on Thursday killed dozens of rebels from Yemen who launched their first major attack on the kingdom since the air war began.

Three Saudi soldiers also died in the battle after the rebels targeted their border observation posts, also on the Najran border.

But Tuesday's assault was the first by the Huthis on an inhabited Saudi town.

Assiri accused the rebels of attempting to sabotage a tentative coalition initiative announced on Monday to pause its air strikes to allow deliveries of humanitarian aid in Yemen.

"After the announcement of the humanitarian initiative yesterday, they want to express their rejection to any peace initiative and so targeted Najran," he said.

The spokesman described Tuesday's rebel attacks on Najran as "suicidal", warning that "all those who approach the border will be killed."

The assault on Najran came as Saudi Arabia's King Salman warned at a summit in Riyadh of the threat of Iran to the stability of the region.

The Huthis are allied with army units loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

They are fighting loyalists of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the rebels' southern advance for Riyadh in March.

New #Saudi-led air strikes hit #Yemen rebels

People inspect the site of an air strike in Yemen's north western city of Saada April 22, 2015

Saudi-led coalition warplanes struck several Yemeni rebel positions in fresh raids overnight, witnesses said Thursday, two days after the alliance announced an end to its month-long aerial campaign.

The raids hit rebel positions close to the capital Sanaa, around the third city Taez, and in the central town of Yarim, the witnesses said.

Residents said strikes were also carried out in the southern province of Lahj as well as around the approach to the main southern city of Aden, where clashes between rebels and fighters loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbou Mansour Hadi raged overnight.

Riyadh said Tuesday the coalition had halted its month-long campaign against anti-Hadi forces after eliminating the threat posed to Saudi Arabia and its neighbours by the rebels' air and missile capabilities.

But it vowed to carry out targeted strikes on the rebels when necessary.

On Wednesday it launched new raids on Shia Houthi rebels who overran a major base of pro-Hadi troops in Taez, where further strikes were reported overnight.

Northeast of Sanaa, raids targeted positions held by the Houthis and rebel troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

And in Yarim, warplanes hit an old university building used as a headquarters by the rebels, according to residents.

The Houthis and their allies remain in control of Sanaa and swathes of the country while Hadi has taken refuge in Riyadh.

BREAKING: Saudi Arabia announces operation Decisive Storm in Yemen is over - انتهاء "عاصفة الحزم"

السعودية تعلن انتهاء عمليات «عاصفة الحزم» بناء على طلب الرئيس هادي

أعلنت دول التحالف العربي انتهاء "عاصفة الحزم".

أصدرت وزارة الدفاع السعودية بياناً، اليوم الثلاثاء، بشأن عمليات عاصفة الحزم. إذ أكدت من خلاله أنه تم إزالة أي تهديد للسعودية وحدودها من الميليشيات الحوثية وميليشيات الرئيس المخلوع علي عبد الله صالح، في الوقت الذي أعلنت فيه قيادة التحالف اليوم انتهاء عمليات عاصفة الحزم بعدما حققت أهدافها، وبدء عمليات إعادة الأمل التي ستكون وفق قرار مجلس الأمن، وسرعة استئناف العملية السياسية في اليمن.

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri

The Saudi-led military operation in Yemen is over after achieving its goals and a new political operation has begun according to the UN Security Council resolution, according to the Saudi defence ministry.

وأكدت وزارة الدفاع أن الطلعات الجوية أزالت أي تهديد ضد السعودية ودول الجوار، وتدمير الصواريخ البالستية التي استولت عليها الميليشيات.

وقال البيان "تعلن وزارة الدفاع بالمملكة العربية السعودية أنه على إثر انطلاق عملية (عاصفة الحزم) والتي شاركت فيها القوات المسلحة السعودية بكل كفاءة واقتدار وأدت ولله الحمد إلى فرض السيطرة الجوية لمنع أي اعتداء ضد (المملكة) ودول المنطقة،  فقد تمكنت - بفضل الله - الطلعات الجوية التي شارك فيها صقورنا البواسل مع أشقائهم في دول التحالف بنجاح من إزالة التهديد على أمن المملكة العربية السعودية والدول المجاورة من خلال تدمير الأسلحة الثقيلة والصواريخ البالستية التي استولت عليها الميليشيات الحوثية والقوات الموالية لـ(علي عبدالله صالح)، من قواعد ومعسكرات الجيش اليمني".

#Iran halts #Saudi pilgrimages over sex assault allegation

Two Egyptian Muslim pilgrims pray as other pilgrims circle the Kaaba in the Holly City of Mecca

Iran has suspended pilgrimages to the Muslim holy places in Saudi Arabia in protest at an alleged sexual assault attempt against two teenage Iranian boys, the culture minister said Monday.

According to Iranian media reports, two Saudi police are alleged to have attempted to assault the youngsters at Jeddah airport as they prepared to fly home from a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina two weeks ago.

In addition to the annual hajj, which was held most recently last October, Muslims also undertake the lesser pilgrimage or umrah throughout the year.

"I have ordered the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organisation to suspend the lesser pilgrimage until the criminals are tried and punished," Culture Minister Ali Jannati told state television.

All pilgrimages by Iranians to the Muslim holy places fall under the organisation's auspices and each year around 500,000 perform the umrah.

President Hassan Rouhani tasked Jannati with drawing up a response amid a mounting outcry in Iran over the allegations.

Hundreds demonstrated outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday.

"Considering what has happened, Iranians' dignity has been damaged and a public demand has formed," the minister said.

Jannati said the Saudi authorities had arrested the two police officers at the centre of the allegations.

"We have spoken to Saudi officials through diplomatic channels and they have promised to punish the persons in custody," he said.

"They even asserted that they would execute them but nothing has been done in reality so far."

The outcry over the allegations comes with relations between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia already tense over the Saudi-led air war against Shiite rebels in Yemen.

Tehran has condemned the Saudi-led campaign and has strongly denied Riyadh's accusations that it has armed the rebels.

#Pakistan PM says 'no hurry' to decide on joining #Yemen coalition

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan is "not in a hurry" to decide whether to join the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in Yemen, the prime minister said Tuesday, before a round of shuttle diplomacy involving Iran and Turkey.

Nawaz Sharif told a special parliamentary debate on Yemen he thought the diplomatic efforts planned for the coming days would yield results.

Saudi Arabia has asked its longstanding ally Pakistan to contribute planes, ships and ground troops to the operation against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But Pakistan has resisted so far, calling for a diplomatic solution and saying it does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world.

Iran, the major Shia power, has strongly criticised the military operation in Yemen by a coalition of largely Sunni Muslim nations. It accuses Saudi Arabia of sowing instability with its air campaign.

Sharif has said any Pakistani participation would need the backing of parliament and convened a special session to debate the matter.

He told lawmakers on Tuesday that he did not want to "manipulate you to get a mandate".

"Take your time, we are not in a hurry, we will take all your good points and I want the parliament also to say something about demands of our friends," said Sharif, who was sheltered by Saudi Arabia when overthrown in a 1999 military coup.

Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Friday and said afterwards both countries wanted a peaceful resolution to the Yemen crisis.

More talks involving Turkey, Iran and Pakistan are planned in the coming days, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan due to meet the leadership in Tehran on Tuesday.

Sharif told parliament he expected these diplomatic efforts quickly to bear fruit.

"We are actually waiting for an answer, which I expect will arrive by tomorrow," Sharif said, adding that Turkey may send its foreign minister or convey the message by phone.

"We will see what we can do after that. We might visit other Muslim countries together."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is due in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

Pakistan faces a tricky dilemma over intervention in Yemen. It has long enjoyed military ties with Riyadh and has benefited hugely from the oil-rich kingdom's largesse over the years.

#Yemen clashes kill dozens as aid delayed

Houthi militants ride a patrol truck

Fierce clashes raged Monday between rebels and loyalist fighters in southern Yemen, leaving nearly 100 dead in 24 hours, as the Red Cross faced delays to urgently needed aid deliveries.

Relief workers have warned of a dire situation in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state, where a Saudi-led coalition is waging an air war on Iran-backed Houthi Shia rebels.

At least 53 people have been killed in 24 hours of fighting between rebels and fighters loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the main southern city Aden, medical and army sources said on Monday.

Seventeen civilians were said to be among the dead.

Witnesses said that clashes continued on Monday as rebels tried to seize a port in the city, which sits on an extinct volcano jutting out into the sea.

In the town of Daleh, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Aden, at least 19 Houthi rebels and 15 pro-Hadi militiamen were killed in fighting overnight, local officials said.

Seven more people were killed in clashes in the southern province of Abyan, where Hadi loyalists have besieged the base of a rebel army brigade loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is accused of backing the Houthis.

Hadi, who is backed by the United Nations as Yemen's legitimate leader, took refuge in Aden in February after the Houthis, who hail from the mountainous north, seized power in the capital Sanaa.

Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia last month as rebels advanced on his southern stronghold, prompting the military campaign by the Saudi-led coalition, now in its 12th day.

Yemen, strategically located near key shipping routes and bordering oil-rich Saudi Arabia, is sinking deeper into a multi-sided civil conflict.

The fighting has drawn in an array of armed groups including the Houthis, pro-Hadi militia, army units loyal to Saleh, southern separatists, Sunni tribes and Al-Qaeda militants.

The Red Cross has appealed for an immediate truce to facilitate aid deliveries and allow people to seek water, food and medical assistance.

It has been trying to fly emergency supplies into Sanaa but the plane is still stuck on the tarmac.

"We have a cargo plane with medical supplies which is ready to go," Sitara Jabeen, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, told .

"We have the permission for this plane but we have logistical problems for the landing. There are less and less planes landing in Yemen. We are trying to solve the logistic problems," she added.

The Red Cross is also trying to deploy a team of surgeons to Aden, but says it is still awaiting authorisations from all sides in the fighting.

It has called for all land, air and sea routes to be immediately opened to allow the delivery of 48 tonnes of medical supplies and surgical kits the organisation has ready to treat the 2,000 to 3,000 people who have been wounded in the fighting.

An AFP photographer at Sanaa airport reported that three Indian aircraft and one Russian plane landed in the capital on Monday to evacuate their citizens.

Russia presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Saturday calling for a humanitarian pause in the Saudi-led air strikes.

Riyadh has assembled a coalition of five Gulf monarchies, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan to wage air raids on the Houthis.

Pakistan said on Monday that it had been asked by Saudi Arabia to contribute aircraft, ships and ground troops to Operation Decisive Storm.

Despite close ties with Riyadh, Pakistan has so far held back from joining the offensive, saying it does not want to get involved in any conflict that would inflame sectarian tensions.

Shia Iran has strongly criticised the intervention in Yemen by the coalition of largely Sunni Muslim nations, accusing Saudi Arabia of sowing instability with its air campaign.

Tehran has angrily rejected accusations of arming the Houthis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is due to visit Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the situation, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said during a special parliamentary debate.

"There should be no ambiguity that if the security of Saudi territory is at stake Pakistan will stand by for support," he told lawmakers.

#ArabLeague final draft resolution calls for Arab joint force

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, center, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, preside over a meeting of Arab heads of state, in Sharm el Sheik, South Sinai, Egypt, Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Arab League's final draft resolution calls for establishing a Joint Arab force to counter growing security threats. However, the statement left the decision to participate in these forces to each and every country in accordance to its will.

The force will intervene to meet challenges that threaten the security and safety of any Arab League member at the request of the concerned state; a decision over which Iraq reportedly voiced reservations.

The final statement, which is expected to be issued later on Sunday, backed military operations carried out in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, urging the Houthi rebels to carry out "an immediate withdrawal from the capital Sanaa and government institutions and to surrender their weapons to the legitimate authorities."

The resolution stressed the need for an urgent response to Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's call for a conference in Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The League summit, held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, called for Arab countries to support Palestine's budget for one year starting next April, and also supported the Palestinian Central Council's resolutions calling for a review of political, economic and security relations with Israel to put pressure on Tel Aviv to respect the signed agreements and international legitimacy resolutions.

Iraq reiterated its objection to any military intervention in any other country, and called for dialogue as a means to resolve problems. As for Lebanon, it stressed the need for any move to be based on Arab consensus.

The resolution called on Arabs to provide full political and logistic support to the legitimate government in Libya, including the national army.

Arab leaders urged the UN Security Council to quickly lift the embargo on arms imports to the Libyan government, as it is the sole legitimate authority, and to assume its responsibilities in preventing the flow of arms to terrorist groups.

The resolution called on the internationally-recognised government to exert more effort to control borders with neighboring countries, a decision over which Qatar voiced reservations. Algeria said items related to lifting the arms embargo and arming the Libyan army fall within the political context of the solution.

The summit urged the Security Council to take full responsibility for dealing with the Syrian crisis, and called for the Arab League Secretary-General to continue his contacts with the UN Secretary-General to reach a common plan of action to come to an agreement on the Syrian crisis, according to the "Geneva I Conference on Syria."

Arabs voiced their absolute backing for the United Arab Emirates sovereignty over its three islands near the Strait of Hormuz, calling on the Iranian government to enter into direct negotiations with the United Arab Emirates or to go to the International Court of Justice to find a peaceful solution to the issue of the islands occupied by Iran since 1971.

Official : Arab states see a month of Yemen strikes, maybe longer

People watch a vehicle which belonged to Shi'ite Muslim rebels burn during clashes in Aden March 26, 2015

An Arab alliance attacking Shi'ite Muslim Houthi forces in Yemen initially plans a month-long campaign, but the operation could last five or six months, a Gulf diplomatic official said on Saturday.

The official, from a country that belongs to the alliance, said Shi'ite Iran, the Houthis' main foreign ally, was likely to retaliate indirectly, by encouraging pro-Iranian Shi'ite activists to carry out armed attacks in Bahrain, Lebanon and eastern Saudi Arabia.

Iran, in a tug-of-war with Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia for influence across the Middle East, has denied supporting the Houthis militarily, and has criticised the Gulf Arabs for their military action.

Since the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against them early on Thursday, the Houthis, seeking to overthrow the Western- and Saudi-allied President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, have continued to make gains.

But the official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the attacks would go on until Yemen was able to resume a U.N.-backed political transition interrupted by the Houthis' seizure of Sanaa in September.

He said Gulf Arab concern over the Houthis' influence in Yemen had been heightened in January by satellite imagery showing Houthi forces repositioning long-range Scud missiles in northern districts near the Saudi border.

The Scuds, with a range of between 250 km (150 miles) and 650 km (400 miles), were aimed northwards at Saudi territory.

He said Yemen's military had about 300 Scuds, the bulk of which were believed to be in the hands of the Houthis and allied military units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and that the campaign so far had destroyed 21 of them.

Struggle For Stability

Yemen, by far the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, has struggled to regain stability since mass protests in 2011 that eventually unseated Saleh after 33 years in power. Hadi led a national dialogue that was discussing a new constitution when the Houthis took the capital and pushed him aside.

The Gulf diplomatic official said the coalition would not accept that the Houthi "coup" had succeeded, and wanted Yemenis to push for a resumption of the U.N.-backed process.

He said it could take five or six months for the campaign's aims to be realised, but there was room for everyone, including Houthis, in that process of forging a new constitution.

The official said Houthi forces were being trained and supported on the ground by about 5,000 experts from Iran and its regional allies, the Hezbollah group in Lebanon and Iraqi Shi'ite militias.

He said the Houthis were today a "quintessentially Yemeni tribal" movement, but with a few years of Iranian training would become a more formidable force, capable of ruling much of the country.

It was widely recognised that Hadi lacked a significant power base, the official said.

But Arab states supported Hadi as he was Yemen's legitimate head of state and had a role as a temporary, transitional figure leading the U.N.-backed reform process, which was meant to shepherd Yemen to stability after decades of autocracy followed by political upheaval.

Saleh's political party called on Friday for a cessation of hostilities by both sides, a statement carried by the party's website said. The Gulf diplomatic official welcomed that, but said it would be good to hear Saleh say it in his own words. 

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi tells Saudi king: Gulf's security is a red line for Egypt

Egypt joins a Saudi-led military offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told King Salman of Saudi Arabia that the security of the Gulf is a “red line” and an “integral part of Egyptian national security” in a phone call after Egypt joined a Saudi-led regional military operation to halt the advance of Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman, right, receives Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi in Riyadh in March

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told King Salman of Saudi Arabia that the security of the Gulf is a “red line” and an “integral part of Egyptian national security” in a phone call after Egypt joined a Saudi-led regional military operation to halt the advance of Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Egypt is heeding the calls of the Yemeni people to restore stability and legitimacy in Yemen and maintain Arab identity, a statement from the Egyptian presidency read.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and regional allies carried out airstrikes against Houthi rebel sites in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, after Houthi fighters on Wednesday stormed the southern coastal city of Aden. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has fled to Riyadh.

Egypt announced on Thursday that it will deploy navy and air forces to participate in the operation.

El-Sisi told the Saudi king that the challenges facing the Arab region and threatening its people are one and the same and should be faced with a united front.

The Saudi king, according to the statement, thanked Egypt for its “political and military support” for the military operation in Yemen.

El-Sisi also received a call from Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi defence minister, who updated the president on the latest news regarding the military operation in Yemen.

Sudan and Jordan have confirmed that they have joined Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the Saudi-led military coalition, while Saudi Arabia has said that Pakistan and Morocco will also join.

The operation comes ahead of the Arab League Summit on Saturday in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, where regional security issues are expected to be at the top of the Arab leaders’ agenda. 

BREAKING: Officials : #Yemen president flees #Aden home

UPDATED: Warplanes attack Yemen presidential palace as Hadi leaves Aden:Reports

Other presidential sources insist Hadi remains in Aden, leading battles against advancing Houthi militants; the Shia rebels say they arrested Hadi's defence minister, offer large bounty for capturing Hadi

Yemen President Abdo Rabby Mansour Hadi

Warplanes launched three rocket attacks on Wednesday afternoon against the presidential palace in Aden, several hours after Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the city as Houthi militias close in on the southern capital, Sky News Arabia reported .

Sources in presidential guard also confirmed that Hadi left Aden, by helicopter, accompanied by diplomats from Saudi Arabia, from the Maasheeq presidential palace.

However, other presidential sources- speaking to the independent Yemen Today news website- denied that Hadi fled Aden.

Hadi, according to these sources, is still leading the armed resistance against the Shia militants.  

Meanwhile, Houthi rebels offered a 20 million Yemeni rial ($100,000) as a bounty for capture of embattled president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, reported Yemen telivision in the Shia-controlled capital of Sanaa.

Sky News Arabia also reported that Yemen's defence minister Major-General Mahmoud al-Subaihi has been arrested on Wednesday in Aden by advancing Shia Houthi militants,  

The news network did not provide further details on the whereabouts of al-Subaihi, or the air attacks against the presidential palace.

Five officials had earlier told The Associated Press that Yemen's embattled president has fled his Aden home for an undisclosed location as Shia rebels near his last refuge. The officials spoke to the AP just hours after the rebels' own television station said they seized an air base where US troops and Europeans advised the country in its fight against al-Qaida.

That air base is only 60 kilometers (35 miles) away from Aden, the port city where president Hadi had established a temporary capital.

Two US government sources had told Reuters on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen. 

Egypt hails late Saudi king as 'just' leader, declares week of mourning

Saudi King Abdullah dies, new ruler is Salman

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television.

King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir.

"His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1 a.m. this morning," said the statement.

Abdullah, thought to have been born in 1923, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2006, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.

 

At stake with the appointment of Salman as king is the future direction of the United States' most important Arab ally and self-appointed champion of Sunni Islam at a moment of unprecedented turmoil across the Middle East.

Abdullah played a guiding role in Saudi Arabia's support for Egypt's government after the military intervened in 2012, and drove his country's support for Syria's rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

 

King Salman, thought to be 79, has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.

By immediately appointing Muqrin as his heir, subject to the approval of a family Allegiance Council, Salman has moved to avert widespread speculation about the immediate path of the royal succession in the world's top oil exporter.

Long term challenges
Abdullah pushed cautious changes in the conservative Islamic kingdom including increased women's rights and economic deregulation, but made no moves towards democracy and was a hawk on policy towards rival Iran.

King Salman has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.

During his five decades as Riyadh governor he was reputedly adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal and princely interests that determine Saudi policy, while maintaining good relations with the West.

In the long term Saudi rulers have to manage the needs of a rapidly growing population plagued by structural unemployment, and an economy that remains overly dependent on oil revenue and undermined by lavish subsidies.

Saudi Arabia, which holds more than a fifth of the world's crude oil, also exerts some influence over the world's 1.6 billion Muslims through its guardianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites.

Most senior members of the ruling al-Saud family are thought to favor similar positions on foreign and energy policy, but incoming kings have traditionally chosen to appoint new ministers to head top ministries like oil and finance.

In a country where the big ministries are dominated by royals, successive kings have kept the oil portfolio reserved for commoners and insisted on maintaining substantial spare output capacity to help reduce market volatility.

Saudi's next heir a close confidant of Abdullah

Prince Moqren, named last year as second in line to the Saudi throne, was a trusted confidant of the late King Abdullah with a reputation as a liberal.

Born on September 15, 1945 in Riyadh, Moqren is the youngest of the 35 sons of Abdulaziz bin Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia.

He graduated from Britain's Royal Air Force College and served in the Saudi air force until taking on political roles from 1980.

He was governor of the northern province of Hail, and then of Medina in the west.

In 2005, Moqren was appointed head of Saudi intelligence, a post that helped the prince build a network of international contacts.

In 2012, King Abdullah named him as counsellor and special envoy, and the following year appointed him second deputy prime minister.

Diplomats say Moqren was very close to Abdullah and was frequently entrusted with sensitive assignments.

He has been involved in key foreign policy issues, including in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen, and is known for his open hostility to Iran, Saudi Arabia's Shiite-dominated arch rival across the Gulf.

In an unprecedented move, Abdullah named Moqren as deputy crown prince in March 2014, making him second in line to the throne behind then-Crown Prince Salman.

Analysts say that if Moqren becomes king he is likely to press ahead with the limited economic and social reforms launched by Abdullah in the deeply conservative kingdom.

"Moqren may mark the start of a more accelerated reform programme at home," said Frederic Wehrey, Gulf expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"There is already a great deal of pressure from technocrats and the youthful citizenry for the kingdom to modernise domestically if it is going to compete on the global stage," he said.

Moqren's naming as deputy crown prince was opposed by some members of the royal family, with a quarter of the members of the Council of Allegiance that decides on succession issues reportedly voting against him.

Moqren's mother was Yemeni and he would set a precedent if he accedes to the throne by becoming the first king born to a non-Saudi mother.

 

Twice married and the father of 15 children, Moqren presides over several associations and social organisations, like many other royals.

Moqren is known for his modesty, and interest in agriculture and astronomy. He is also a staunch supporter of developing e-government services in the ultra-conservative kingdom. 

Saudis swarm Twitter to mourn king

Joining a swarm of Saudis taking to social media on Friday, veteran news broadcaster Abdullah al-Shihri said he would have preferred not to deliver the official announcement that King Abdullah was dead.

 

"I did not wish to announce this news," said Shihri, who wore a dark robe and traditional shemagh head covering to deliver the announcement from the royal court.

 

"May God have mercy on Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. Sincere prayers for his successor and crown prince," he wrote.

The ailing Abdullah died early Friday aged about 90, after almost a decade on the throne.

Many Saudis took to the Internet to praise the deceased monarch but some, including campaigners for free speech and women's right to drive, were less flattering.

 

Abdullah was "loved by the Saudi people and the entire Muslim population. We did not lose a king today, we all lost a father", Ameera Al Taweel said in one of thousands of Twitter messages.

 

Saudi Army News, an official account, expressed condolences and said: "This Twitter account will stop tweeting for three days in mourning of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, may God rest his soul".

Many tweeted a hadith, or saying of the Prophet Mohammed, that death on a Friday means that one's life ended well.

Some talked of the development Abdullah fostered in the kingdom.

"Spending was generous and golden projects in all regions," wrote Naif al-Qarni.

 

In a country where official media are tightly controlled, the Internet offers more freedom for Saudis to communicate.

 

But the kingdom's record on free speech was highlighted in the final weeks of Abdullah's rule by the case of Raef Badawi, a blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail.

Badawi's Twitter account retweeted a comment on Abdullah's death saying: "God forgive him and have mercy on him."

Rights group Amnesty International said earlier that Saudi Arabia had postponed for a second time on medical grounds Badawi's flogging, which had been due to resume on Friday. He has already received 50 lashes.

 

Campaigners for women's right to drive referred only in passing to the king's death, saying on their Twitter account: "For all creatures whether big or small -- nothing remains but your deeds and your grave -- and only God lasts forever".

 

They posted a picture of the king but then followed it with photographs of Loujain Hathloul and Maysaa Alamoudi, two women's rights activists detained since early December.

Saudi Arabia, with a population of about 29 million including around 20 million Saudis, is the only country where women are not allowed to drive.

 

Abdullah had challenged conservatives with moves such as including women in the Shura Council, an advisory body.

 

A minority of those posting comments were unimpressed by his accomplishments.

 

He was "neither a reformer nor leader" Usamah Mohammad said in a tweet.

 

Abdullah is succeeded by his half-brother Salman, 79, whose Twitter account had already been updated.

 

"The official account of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia", it said, referring to the kingdom's hosting of Islam's holiest sites.

Obama hails late Saudi King as 'candid' and courageous friend

US President Barack Obama on Thursday paid tribute to late Saudi King Abdullah as a bold leader who took courageous steps to pursue peace in the Middle East and a valued friend.

 

"As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions," Obama said in a written statement, describing his "genuine and warm friendship" with the king.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi declared a week of mourning in Egypt for Saudi King Abdullah who passed away on Friday, praising him as a just leader who had devotedly defended pan-Arabism and Islam.



"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab nation has lost one of its most prominent leaders," read a presidential statement released shortly after the death of the king at 1am on Friday morning.

 

"History will record the numerous achievements of the deceased to defend Arabism and Islam with honour, justice, pride and courageousness," read the Egyptian statement.

 

The statement also hailed the late king's support for Cairo, saying, "Egyptian people will never forget King Abdullah's historical stances towards Egypt and its people which reflected wisdom and deep conviction of Arab unity."

 

"high-level sources" said that President El-Sisi, who was currently in Switzerland for a global economic meeting, has cut short his visit and fly to the oil-rich Gulf kingdom to take part in the funeral on Friday afternoon, and pay respects to the royal family.

Following the death of Abdullah, 90, which was announced on Saudi state television, the throne has passed to his brother Salman.

 

The late monarch was one of El-Sisi's closest regional allies, offering him vocal support when he came to power following the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, and providing Cairo with cash aid and petroleum products.