British Forces Rescue 150 Workers From Libya

Steyr

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Libya-British-Special-Forces-Rescue-150-Workers-From-Libyan-Desert/Article/201102415941447?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15941447_Libya%3A_British_Special_Forces_Rescue_150_Workers_From_Libyan_Desert_


Breaking News8:41pm UK, Saturday February 26, 2011

British Forces Rescue 150 Workers From Libya

British special forces have rescued 150 foreign nationals from desert locations in conflict-torn Libya, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.

The civilians were taken to safety by two RAF Hercules planes after being picked up from three oil installations south of the city of Benghazi.

The daring mission was carried out by members of the Special Boat Service.

Hundreds of British oil workers have been stranded at camps in Libya amid the continuing revolt against dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Both planes have since landed in Malta, the Ministry of Defence said. It is not known how many are British citizens, but they will be flown back to the UK on Sunday or Monday by chartered plane.

Glyn Jones, one of the Britons rescued by the planes, told Sky News the mood among those rescued was "jubilant".

Meanwhile, the operations of the British Embassy in Tripoli have been temporarily suspended and its staff evacuated on a Government-chartered flight, which has taken off for Gatwick with 53 British nationals on board.

A Foreign Office (FCO) spokesperson said: "In light of the deteriorating situation in Libya, and as our last FCO charter flight has now left Tripoli, we have temporarily suspended the operations of the British Embassy in Tripoli.

"Its staff left today - some of them, with our Rapid Deployment Team from Tripoli Airport, on that charter flight.

"The Turkish government will now temporarily represent British interests in Libya."

The FCO earlier said some 600 British nationals had been helped to leave Libya via planes, a Royal Navy warship and ferries.

The HMS Cumberland is now on its way back to Benghazi to pick up more people after dropping 68 Britons off in Malta, from where they were flown to Gatwick.

The destroyer HMS York has also been deployed to the area as a standby.

Many of those returning have described the chaotic scenes gripping the oil-rich nation, where anti-government protests have left as many as 1,000 people dead in the past week.

One has told of the terrifying moment he was robbed at gunpoint amid violent clashes in crisis-hit country.

Richard Weeks was among 207 people from over 20 nations, on board the naval frigate which sailed from the second city of Benghazi.

vulcan57

According to Sky News, there was also a AC130 gunship there for protection. That must mean that the Americans were in on that as well. Won't be the last of these type of rescue missions, me thinks. Well executed.

Tenger

So much for the posters on this site saying rumours of the SBS gearing up were rubbish.

vulcan57 wrote: »

According to Sky News, there was also a AC130 gunship there for protection.

Sky is saying 3 C130 involved, this report mentions 2 transports, so that would fit in nicely.

Steyr

Over on WAP:

Quote "ASCOT1960"

'SOLEX 01/02' both flew missions today in a tactical orbit area in the Med Sea from RAF Akrotiri.
AWACS 'SOLEX 03' left RAF Waddington this afternoon and is now on station in the Med Sea.
It seems all three are providing 24hr AWACS control of the whole area. Assume for more rescues (still 300 left in the desert in different areas from the 150 yesterday).

looks like the British have a large force out there now. ( At lest one VC-10 (tanker) Chinooks x 2, Hercules x 3 ?, BAe146, three AWACS plus two warships).

___________________________________________________________


Mildenhall based MC-130P Shadows routing through Italy southbound today. The Another one has turned up near Malta now, callsign ‘FEVER 11’ from the 1 RQS. So that's three MC-130P's in the area now this afternoon.
UK now confirms they are working towards a no-fly zone across Libya. So if this goes ahead the three AWACS will probably stay down at Cyprus for quite some time... or rotate with NATO and US examples.

US commanders could turn to the USS Enterprise, currently in the Red Sea, as well as the amphibious ship the USS Kearsarge, which has a fleet of helicopters and about 2,000 Marines aboard, the Associated Press reported.

Tabnabs

Steyr wrote: »

US commanders could turn to the USS Enterprise, currently in the Red Sea, as well as the amphibious ship the USS Kearsarge, which has a fleet of helicopters and about 2,000 Marines aboard, the Associated Press reported.

I hear she's already back in the Med. Now the fun can begin...

maquiladora

(Reuters) - Establishing a no-fly zone in Libya would be a 'challenging' military operation, a senior U.S. military official said on Tuesday.

"My military opinion is that it would be challenging," General James Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate hearing. "You would have to remove air defense capabilty in order to establish a no-fly zone, so no illusions here. It would be a military operations -- it wouldn't be just telling people not to fly airplanes."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/libya-usa-nofly-idUSWAT01491620110301