President Lula da Silva dismissed the army chief of Brazil

International desk: The president of the country, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has dismissed the army chief of Brazil, General Julio Cesar de Arruda. Former President Jair Bolsonaro was sacked after supporters of him attacked government buildings in protests. News from AFP, Reuters and Al Jazeera.

Bolsonaro is a retired military officer. He maintained close ties with the armed forces during his presidency.

Lula did not make any statement about the dismissal of the army chief. However, Brazil's armed forces said on its official website that army chief Julio Cesar de Arruda had been dismissed from his post. The country's military sources reported this news.

Arruda was replaced by General Tomás Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who headed the Southeast Military Command.

The move comes weeks after supporters of Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court in Brasilia on January 8.

The rioters called for military intervention to overturn Bolsonaro's defeat to Lula in the country's presidential election.

Immediately after the riots, Lula said he suspected the involvement of members of the armed forces in the protests.

The leftist Brazilian leader recently said his government would remove hardline Bolsonaro loyalists from the security forces. He removed dozens of soldiers from his Security Council shortly after the protests.

About 2,000 people were arrested for their involvement in the anti-Lula protests. In addition, the country's Supreme Court has ordered an investigation against Bolsonaro for allegedly inciting the protests.

 

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