AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah broke his silence Wednesday to tell his nation that the worst political crisis in decades sparked by an alleged plot involving his half-brother Prince Hamzah was over.

The government had accused Hamzah — a former crown prince who was sidelined as heir to the throne in 2004 — of involvement in a conspiracy to “destabilise the kingdom’s security” and arrested at least 16 people.

But Abdullah said Wednesday that Hamzah, who has signed a letter pledging his loyalty to the king following mediation by an uncle, was safe in his palace under his “protection”.

“I assure you, that the sedition has been nipped in the bud,” Abdullah said in an address read out in his name on state television, a day after an official news blackout on the affair.