Libyan war updates/Stop NATO news: May 31, 2011
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Libyan War: Over 9,000 NATO Air Missions, Nearly 3,500 Strike Sorties
Rebels Reject Truce Offer, NATO Bombs Libyan Cities
Western Troops Seen On The Ground In Libya
Mediterranean: U.S. Leads Naval Exercises With NATO, North African Partners
NATO In Afghanistan “As Long As It Takes To Finish Job”: Rasmussen
Two Australian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
Afghan War: Czech Soldier Killed, Two Wounded
Occupying Force: Karzai Tells NATO To Halt Bombing Of Afghan Villages
NATO Helicopters Stage Raid Inside Pakistan
Three NATO Oil Tankers Torched In Pakistan
Youth Groups Oppose Expansion Of NATO Presence In Kyrgyzstan
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USS Robert G. Bradley guided missile frigate
Chinook helicopter
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Libyan War: Over 9,000 NATO Air Missions, Nearly 3,500 Strike Sorties
http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110531_110531-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 31, 2011
NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ
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Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:
Air Operations
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 9036 sorties, including 3443 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 30 May: 158
Strike sorties conducted 30 May: 58
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Arms Embargo Activities
A total of 19 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
11 Vessels were hailed on 30 May to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (no denial) was conducted.
A total of 1104 vessels have been hailed. 61 boardings and 7 denials have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.
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Rebels Reject Truce Offer, NATO Bombs Libyan Cities
http://www.rferl.org/content/libya_nato_bombing_cease-fire_zuma/24210311.html
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 31, 2011
Fresh NATO Libya Raids As Rebels Reject New Truce Offer
There are reports of renewed NATO air strikes targeting Muammar Qaddafi’s regime, following the apparent failure of a new attempt to mediate in the Libyan conflict by South African President Jacob Zuma.
Libyan television reported NATO air raids against targets in Tripoli and Al-Jafra, a city south of the capital.
On May 30, Zuma, representing the African Union (AU) group of nations, met with Qaddafi in Tripoli and said the Libyan ruler was ready to implement an AU-backed truce that would halt NATO air strikes against his regime.
However, there was no indication that Qaddafi is prepared to meet Western and Libyan rebel demands that he resign, and the new offer was quickly rejected by the rebels who have been fighting Qaddafi’s regime since February.
“Brother leader [Qaddafi] took up his position today that he’s ready to implement the decision of the AU,” Zuma said on Libyan television. “There must be a cease-fire, which is unconditional. The view is that that must include bombing by NATO, [which] must also come to an end.”
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compiled from agency reports
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Western Troops Seen On The Ground In Libya
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/31/Western-troops-seen-on-the-ground-in-Libya/UPI-11841306825200/?spt=hts&or=1
United Press International
May 31, 2011
Western troops seen on the ground in Libya
TRIPOLI, Libya: A TV report showing Western troops on the ground with Libyan rebels in a possible violation of a U.N. decree brought no immediate comment from the world body.
The al-Jazeera English report showed six armed Western troops, “possibly British, seen liaising with the fighters” in Dafniya, a rebel battle area front line near Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city. The city has been under attack by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Westerners, which al-Jazeera reported may have been facilitating forthcoming helicopter attacks, “left hurriedly” when they spotted the TV camera, the Qatari network reported.
A spokeswoman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told United Press International Monday night Ban’s office had no comment on the report. She did not say whether the U.N. Security Council intended to investigate the report.
A March 17 Security Council resolution approved a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians from attacks by Gadhafi forces and authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, but specifically excluded a “foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.”
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The al-Jazeera footage emerged as South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Tripoli in an attempt to broker a cease-fire, hours after NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark said Gadhafi’s “reign of terror” was coming to an end.
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Mediterranean: U.S. Leads Naval Exercises With NATO, North African Partners
http://www.naveur-navaf.navy.mil/article232center.html
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet
May 23, 2011
Phoenix Express 2011 Begins at Souda Bay, Crete
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeff Troutman Navy Public Affairs Support Element-East Detachment Europe
SOUDA BAY, Crete: Phoenix Express 2011 (PE-11), a multi-national maritime exercise between U.S., North African and European naval forces, commenced training here today. PE-11, a three-week evolution divided into two phases, is designed to enhance regional maritime partnerships.
Maritime and land forces from 14 countries will participate in the international military partnering exercise in the Mediterranean Sea from May 23 to June 15, and will serve as a unique training opportunity to enhance each country’s ability to work together….
Exercise events will consist of training in, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and Interdiction Operations (MIO), Command and Control from an ashore Combined Maritime Operations Center (CMOC), Search and Rescue operations (SAR), communications, division tactics, and medical response.
“Phoenix Express has evolved over the past six years, growing from six nations in 2005 to 13 participants this year. It is an essential training exercise in the Mediterranean that fosters trust among Allies and Partners, leverages our combined maritime strength, and promotes unity of effort…,” said Capt. Martin Beck, Commander Task Force Phoenix Express 2011….
Once the in-port phase is complete, ships and personnel will depart Souda Bay and sail into the central Mediterranean Sea to begin the underway training phase.
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U.S. units participating in Phoenix Express include USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29), and Military Sealift Command’s maritime prepositioning ship USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK 3016) and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Big Horn (T-AO 198). Additional U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa staff personnel will also participate alongside other international naval forces in this exercise.
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NATO In Afghanistan “As Long As It Takes To Finish Job”: Rasmussen
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20115\31\story_31-5-2011_pg7_26
Agence France-Presse
May 30, 2011
NATO must ‘stay course’ in Afghanistan: Rasmussen
VARNA: NATO must stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish the job, the alliance’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told member states on Monday, urging unfaltering support.
“It is of utmost importance that we stay the course, that we stay as long as it takes to finish our job,” Rasmussen told a session of NATO’s parliamentary assembly in the Black Sea city of Varna. The assembly is NATO’s key link to the parliaments of its member states, which vote on defence budgets and approve troop deployment abroad.
Rasmussen urged the assembly to increase defence budgets and keep up contributions to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, which was far from complete….
[A[ rapid exit from Afghanistan at this point was still “premature,” he added. “In that case we would easily leave behind a security vacuum.”
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Two Australian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/31/c_13902649.htm
Xinhua News Agency
May 31, 2011
Two Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan
CANBERRA: Two Australian soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston announced on Tuesday.
The incidents on Monday coincided with the arrival home of the body of Sergeant Brett Wood, who was killed in Afghanistan more than a week ago in a bomb blast.
According to Defense force chief Angus Houston, it was “a very bad day” for the Australian Defense Force.
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One of the soldiers was a 25-year-old, Queensland-based lance corporal who was shot by an Afghan National Army soldier with whom he was serving on guard duty at a patrol base in the Chora Valley.
The Australian, from the Mentoring Task Force, was airlifted to the Australian base at Tarin Kowt but died from his wounds.
The Afghan soldier fled the scene and escaped, despite being shot at by another Afghan soldier.
Houston said it was yet to be determined whether the fatal shooting was accidental or deliberate, adding that the circumstances of the 25-year-old soldier’s death were disturbing, given that Australian personnel were training and mentoring elements of the Afghan National Army.
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The other soldier died in Afghanistan on Monday was a Victorian- based pilot, a 27-year-old lieutenant traveling as a passenger in a Chinook helicopter that crashed during a resupply mission 90 kilometers east of Tarin Kowt.
Despite immediate medical assistance, Houston said the 27-year-old Army lieutenant from Victoria could not be saved.
The other five soldiers were evacuated to a medical facility at Kandahar where they were in a satisfactory condition. The helicopter could not be recovered and was destroyed “in place”.
Houston said it is not known if the crash was the result of enemy action.
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The two soldiers’ death bring to 26 the number of Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001.
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Afghan War: Czech Soldier Killed, Two Wounded
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-soldier-dies-in-afghanistan-another-two-suffer-injuries/644868
Czech News Agency
May 31, 2011
Czech soldier dies in Afghanistan, another two suffer injuries
Kabul/Prague: A Czech soldier died in the Afghan province of Wardak this morning when an Iveco vehicle with him and another three passengers hit an improvised explosive device, Czech general military staff spokeswoman Jana Ruzickova has told CTK.
The soldiers´ Afghan interpreter also died in the accident and another two soldiers suffered injuries.
This is the fourth Czech soldier to have died in Afghanistan.
The accident happened this morning.
The dead soldier who suffered suffered a lethal injury was born in 1980.
Another soldier and the Afghan interpreter suffered severe injuries.
The fourth person in the car, the Czech military Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) commander Michal Kucharsky, received a light injury.
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The wounded soldiers were transported to the Shank base in Logar province where the Afghan interpreter succumbed to the injuries sustained.
The Czech soldier with severe injuries will be helicoptered to the military hospital in Kabul, Ruzickova said.
Picek has ordered the wounded soldiers and the bodily remains of the dead soldier to be transported to the Czech Republic as soon as possible, Ruzickova said.
Czech Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra expressed deep sorrow at the soldier´s death.
“Like every year, the situation in Afghanistan has worsened in the summer months and the frequence of similar incidents has increased,” he said.
“However, this changes nothing about our further operation in Afghanistan. Our soldiers continue fulfilling their tasks,” Picek said.
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Before the incident today, the Czech unit had 54 members, mainly troops from the tank base in Praslavice, north Moravia. For most of them this is not their first deployment in a foreign mission.
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Occupying Force: Karzai Tells NATO To Halt Bombing Of Afghan Villages
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110531/164336578.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
May 31, 2011
Karzai tells NATO to stop bombing Afghan villages
Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday NATO air strikes on people’s homes in pursuit of Taliban insurgents were no longer allowed.
At least nine people, including women and children, were killed in an NATO attack in southern Helmand on Sunday.
“From this moment, air strikes on the houses of people are not allowed,” Karzai told a news conference.
“If after the Afghan government said the aerial bombing of Afghan houses is banned and if it continues, then their presence will change from a war against terrorism to an occupying force,” he said.
NATO has said such strikes are only carried out with Afghan government approval.
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http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/05/31/night-raids-make-isaf-occupying-force-karzai
Pajhwok Afghan News
May 31, 2011
Night raids to make ISAF occupying force: Karzai
by Frozan Rahmani
KABUL: NATO-led international forces would become occupation troops if they do not stop nighttime raids that caused civilian casualties, President Hamid Karzai warned on Tuesday.
The multinational force killed 14 civilians, including five girls, seven boys and two women, and injured several others three days ago when it bombed houses in the Salam Bazaar area of Nawzad district in southern Helmand.
At a news conference in Kabul, Karzai once again condemned the airstrike and warned international service members to end raids that harmed noncombatants.
“If foreign troops continue night raids, they would turn from a counterterrorism force into an occupying force. And history is witness to the fact how Afghans deal with occupation troops,” Karzai told reporters.
He added his government was duty-bound to take effective steps to prevent civilian deaths, an emotive issue for the Afghan nation.
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The president reiterated his administration would no longer allow ISAF aerial bombing of civilian houses. “From this moment, airstrikes on the houses of people are not allowed.”
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NATO Helicopters Stage Raid Inside Pakistan
http://tribune.com.pk/story/179191/nato-helicopters-violate-pakistans-airspace/
Express Tribune/Agencies
May 31st, 2011
NATO helicopters violate Pakistan’s airspace
PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Air-borne troops from the US-led Nato forces intruded into the North Waziristan tribal region on Monday in pursuit of militants and took into custody five suspected militants from the Haqqani network.
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According to media reports, Nato helicopters violated Pakistan’s airspace in “hot pursuit’” landed in the mountainous area of Gorveet in North Waziristan and took into custody five suspected members of the Haqqani network.
The political agent of North Waziristan confirmed the incident and the arrests. Locals said that fear gripped the area following the incident.
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http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/31-May-2011/Nato-frisks-away-5-men-in-unilateral-NWA-raid
The Nation/Agencies
May 31, 2011
Nato frisks away 5 men in unilateral NWA raid
MIRANSHAH: Nato forces violated Pakistani airspace on Monday as two of its helicopters intruded into the Pakistani territory.
Sources said that two Nato choppers entered the Pakistani airspace to hunt insurgents in the border area of North Waziristan Agency (NWA). The Nato helicopters entered the border area, claiming that five members of the Haqqani network have been arrested after the search operation.
It is worth mentioning here that two Nato helicopters had violated Pakistan’s airspace at Admi Kot post in North Waziristan Agency last week and had fired at an army check post, injuring two security personnel.
Meanwhile, tribesmen and citizens have expressed their anguish over repeated violations of airspace by Nato in the border areas. Criticising the suspicious silence of the country’s leadership over Nato violations, they said that sovereignty of the country has been ruined in the hands of the current rulers.
They urged the armed forces to appropriately protest the violation by Nato forces to ensure safety of the citizens. Unconfirmed reports from intelligence sources said that five Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders were arrested Monday morning in the Gorvait area of North Waziristan by Nato forces and later taken away by two Nato helicopters to Afghanistan.
According to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous, the action was taken by the Nato forces without informing the Pakistani government. If so, this is yet another Abbottabad-like operation taken by the foreign forces on the Pakistani soil without the knowledge of the Pakistani side.
A political agent of North Waziristan also confirmed the news. So far there is no official report about the Monday morning’s operation taken by the Nato forces in North Waziristan.
On May 2, US forces conducted a raid in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Abbottabad, during which al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in his compound. As the US side did not inform the Pakistani side until the raid was over, it led to a strong protest from the Pakistani side as Pakistan considers the unilateral action taken by the United States has seriously violated its sovereignty.
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Three NATO Oil Tankers Torched In Pakistan
http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/15649-3-nato-oil-tankers-torched-in-khuzdar.html
Associated Press of Pakistan
May 31, 2011
3 NATO oil tankers torched in Khuzdar
KHUZDAR: Unknown armed men set on fire three NATO oil tankers and injured one of drivers on National Highway in different incidents on Tuesday.
According to the Levies Force, gunmen opened fire on two Afghanistan-bound NATO oil tankers coming from Karachi near the Wadh area.
Resultantly, the tankers caught fire and were incinerated. Another NATO oil tanker was set ablaze on the National Highway near Mastung while one of its drivers received bullet injuries. The injured was rushed to hospital, where he later was referred to Quetta in view of his precarious condition.
The Levies Force is investigating the incidents.
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Youth Groups Oppose Expansion Of NATO Presence In Kyrgyzstan
http://eng.24.kg/politic/2011/05/31/18411.html
24.kg News Agency
May 31, 2011
Youth associations are against NATO mission in Kyrgyzstan
Irina Pavlova
Bishkek: Youth associations are speaking against the opening of a NATO mission in Kyrgyzstan, member of the Kyrgyzstan Zhashtar Keneshi public association Almazbek Dzhasybayev stated at a press conference today.
According to him, mass media published the information that NATO’s Special Envoy for Central Asia and Caucasus James Appathurai visited the country. He met with the president for the transitional period Roza Otunbayeva behind closed doors. “They decided to open a NATO mission in Kyrgyzstan. We are urging the people, the head of the state, MPs not to allow this,” said Almazbek Dzhasybayev.
“Russia is a strategic partner of the Kyrgyz Republic; it exports 80-90 percent of POL to Kyrgyzstan. In the case of confrontation, Russia may apply economic sanctions that will impact on the level of living of Kyrgyzstanis. Besides, tens of thousands of Kyrgyz migrants are living and working in Russia. Such betrayal from our side will impact on them. Besides, our pro-Russian neighbors can close borders under various pretences,” explained Almazbek Dzhasybayev.
He noted that the republic is a member of the UN, CSTO, SCO and this is enough to maintain security in the region.
“We think that the report of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission, statements of the U.S. Ambassador Pamela Spratlen, construction of the biolaboratory of the third security level and opening a NATO mission are links in one chain. The report can cause unpredictable consequences that will give occasion to the enlargement of the foreign military commitment in Kyrgyzstan,” added he.
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