![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]()
Athens (AFP) March 4, 2011 Two US warships carrying marines and equipment to help evacuate people fleeing Libya arrived on Friday at a US naval base on the Greek island of Crete, a spokesman at the base told AFP. The USS Kearsage and the USS Ponce set anchor at Souda Bay, Paul Farley said. As part of international efforts to help evacuate people fleeing Libya, US President Barack Obama directed the use of military aircraft to help Egyptians who have fled to the Tunisian border return home, Farley said in a statement. The Kearsage and Ponce had crossed the Suez Canal and reached the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday. The Kearsage amphibious ready group includes 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities. Their arrival came amid reports that forces loyal to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi have regained control of Zawiyah, near Tripoli, from rebel hands. About 400 Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina arrived Thursday at the base amid a "repositioning" of forces in the region, said Farley. The naval base supplies US and NATO forces in the region following an agreement with the US in 1990, a Greek defence ministry official said. According to Athens, three Greek navy vessels have since last week also been patrolling the Mediterranean Sea between Crete and Libya to protect Greek ships participating in the evacuation of foreign nationals from Libya. Western powers are arguing over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya to support rebels fighting Kadhafi's regime. Some opposition figures in Libya have begun calling for air strikes. But Kadhafi warned in a speech on Wednesday that "thousands" would die if the West intervened to support the uprising against him. An American aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise -- which has fighter jets that could enforce a possible no-fly zone -- could also be called upon for the Libya crisis.
earlier related report The three were taken captive in Sirte in the north of Libya on Sunday in a botched attempt to evacuate two civilians, a Dutch engineer and one other European, by navy helicopter with no backup on board. "We are doing our utmost to get them back and are using every diplomatic angle we can use," Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a post-cabinet press conference, insisting he could not elaborate until the three were home safe. As the press and experts questioned the wisdom of the operation, for which the government concedes it had no Libyan authorisation, Rutte stressed that "the focus now must be on getting them back safely ... as quickly as possible. "As long as I am of the opinion that it is better for the process of getting them back safely that the cabinet and I remain mum, we will do so." Earlier, the defence ministry said "intensive negotiations" were underway to secure the liberty of the three: two navy pilots, one of them a woman, and a loadmaster. Dutch television on Thursday night broadcast images taken from Libyan television of the three soldiers, apparently in good health. Their capture first became known on Thursday, having been kept quiet "for security reasons", according to the Dutch government, which has since been frugal with details. Defence ministry spokesman Otte Beeksma said Libyan soldiers on Sunday prevented the Lynx helicopter from taking off from Syrte with the three Dutch marines and two civilians on board. The civilians were later handed over to the Dutch embassy in Tripoli and returned to the Netherlands on Wednesday. "This was a frivolous, careless action in a secured Kadhafi area, without backup from special forces," Ko Colijn, acting director of the Clingendael international relations think-tank's security programme, told AFP. "It has been hugely damaging for the Netherlands and NATO." As the evacuation had not been authorised, Libya was within its rights to hold and charge the three, said Colijn. "As long as Kadhafi remains in Libya, he will not free them quickly. He can use them every day to threaten the West and NATO. He can use them to force the Netherlands to pay a price, perhaps literally in the form of money, or in the form of undertakings not to take part in any Western-imposed no-fly zone or other military intervention." "We are perplexed, the Netherlands is not a country of cowboys," a European diplomat told AFP in The Hague. "Perhaps it was an error of judgment. They gave Kadhafi a golden bargaining chip." Libyan news agency Jana reported that the Dutch helicopter was "full of arms", and said it entered Libyan airspace in violation of international law. Dutch daily Trouw said the botched evacuation has "embarrassed" the Dutch government and would leave it diplomatically "broken-winged" until the three are freed. "Botched evacuation defies all tactical prescriptions," headlined the Volkskrant.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links
![]() ![]() Uqayla, Libya (AFP) March 4, 2011 Libyan forces launched a fresh air strike on rebel territory in the east on Friday as pumped-up opposition fighters pushed forward the frontline against Moamer Kadhafi's regime. There were no casualties or damage as a government jet bombed an opposition-controlled military base on the outskirts of the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya on the third straight day of air strikes. "There was ... read more |
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |