BEIJING: In a major purge of the Chinese military, nine senior generals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), including senior officials of the country’s Rocket Force, have been dismissed from Parliament, official media reported here on Saturday.

Those dismissed from the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s Parliament, include five past or current top commanders of the PLA Rocket Force, which handles the missiles division and a key component of the country’s nuclear arsenal, besides a former Air Force commander, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The report did not attribute any reason for their disqualification. These generals are part of a substantial number of members of the Chinese military who formed part of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and are appointed to the NPC.

Their dismissals come days after the NPC appointed former naval commander General Dong Jun as the new Defence Minister.