key points
- General Julio Cesar de Arruda had been commander since 28 December.
- His replacement will be General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva.
- President Lula said this week that intelligence services failed on 8 January to prevent riots.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has fired the army commander, General Julio Cesar de Arruda, a source with knowledge of the matter says.
The firing of Mr Arruda, who had been commander since 28 December, was reported earlier on Saturday by Brazilian newspaper Folha de S Paulo and TV network Globonews.
His replacement will be General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, army commander of the southeast, the source said.
The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said on Saturday that Mr Arruda had been removed as head of the army.
President Lula said this week that intelligence services failed on 8 January, when government buildings in Brasilia were stormed by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Previously, President Lula said he suspected collusion by "people in the armed forces" in the unrest, during which several thousand supporters of Mr Bolsonaro invaded and ransacked the Congress building, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court.
Mr Arruda had attended a meeting with President Lula on Friday, accompanied by the commanders of the navy, Marcos Sampaio Olsen, and air force, Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno.
Defence Minister José Múcio Monteiro told reporters after the meeting that the 8 January riots were not the main discussion topic but added that any involvement of military personnel in the riots would be punished.
President Lula has said recently that his government would purge hardcore loyalists of Mr Bolsonaro from the security forces.
Many of the demonstrators who rioted in Brasilia called for a military coup to restore Mr Bolsonaro to power.
