MBS issues first royal decrees, further tightening his grip on power

Saudi Arabia has replaced its ambassador to the United States, a royal decree announced on Saturday, as the fallout over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder tests relations between the two allies.

Princess Reema bint Bandar was appointed the kingdom's first woman envoy to Washington, replacing Prince Khalid bin Salman, who was named vice defence minister.

Bint Bandar is the daughter of a former long-time ambassador to the US and former spy chief Bandar bin Sultan.

Prince Khalid is the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler who also serves as the defence minister.

Prince Khalid's new appointment as deputy defence minister comes as a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia remains bogged down in a four-year conflict in neighbouring Yemen.

The reshuffle comes as ties with Washington are under strain following Khashoggi's murder last October in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

After initially denying they had any knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance, the Saudis finally acknowledged that a team killed him inside the consulate, but described it as a rogue operation.

US lawmakers have threatened to take tougher action against Saudi Arabia over the brutal killing amid claims that the crown prince was personally responsible.

The Saudi government has strongly denied the crown prince had anything to do with the murder of Khashoggi who was a columnist with the Washington Post.

The killing refocused attention on the Saudi-led military coalition's bombing campaign in Yemen which has resulted in the UN calling the situation in the war-ravaged country the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

Rewarding military participation in Yemen

Mohammed bin Salman also ordered the payment of a month's salary reward to the military participants in the front lines of military operations in Yemen.

Earlier this month, the US House voted overwhelmingly to end American involvement in Saudi Arabia's war effort in neighbouring Yemen, dealing a rebuke to President Donald Trump who has publicly thrown his support behind the crown prince.

US lawmakers this month also said they were probing whether Trump was rushing to sell sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia to please corporate supporters who stand to profit handsomely.

The House of Representatives committee has voiced fears that Saudi Arabia could convert US expertise into making a nuclear bomb, heightening already severe tensions with regional rival Iran.

More than 24 million Yemenis, more than three-quarters of the country's population, are now dependent on some form of aid for survival, according to the UN. 

Around 10,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded in the conflict, according to the World Health Organization.

Human rights groups say the real figure could be five times as high.