Evacuation mission in Libya

Duration: 22 February 2011 11 March 2011

Number of military personnel: 200
Honours and awards: none
Fatalities: none

Background

In early 2011, a part of the Libyan population rose against the dictatorial regime of Muammar alGaddafi. The uprising started on 15 February 2011 in the eastern city of Benghazi with protests in
response to the arrest of human rights activist and lawyer Fathi Terbil. This resistance followed from
earlier protests and demands for more democracy in Tunisia and Egypt, in what was to become
known as the Arab Spring.
At first, the demonstrators demanded that Gaddafi step down and democratic elections be held. The
Libyan government troops used brute force to suppress the demonstrations, after which the
situation quickly developed into an uprising. Benghazi fell into the hands of the insurgents, who had
united in a National Transition Council (NTC), on 20 February 2011. Other cities in eastern Libya fell
to the insurgents in quick succession. In March, the armed forces of the Gaddafi regime launched a
campaign to repel the rebels. They recaptured several cities in the process, while committing acts of
violence against the civilian population, leading to sharp criticism from the international community.
The UN Security Council condemned the violence and on 26 February 2011 imposed an arms
embargo on Libya through resolution 1970.
Following the outbreak of violence in February 2011, many countries started evacuating their citizens
from Libya. The countries that evacuated their citizens independently or with the help of other
countries included the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Russia, Austria, Chile,
Italy, France, Pakistan, Netherlands, Turkey, Peru, China, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Portugal, Serbia and Greece. India launched Operation Safe Homecoming to get 18,000 Indian
citizens safely out of Libya by air and by sea. Germany and the United Kingdom conducted several
covert rescue operations,
Most of these were carried by sea and by air, and with the help of military and civil aircraft and ships.
Many evacuated civilians were employees of companies with branches in Libya, oil companies for
example. Other evacuees were tourists or people with Libyan partners. Of this last group, some
people decided to stay. In many cases, the people involved could be evacuated in a peaceful manner
via airports or harbours. Some evacuations were carried out by military personnel, like the
evacuation of 150 oil workers from the Libyan desert south of Benghazi by British SAS units. Among
these evacuees were 7 Dutch citizens.

Evacuations by the Netherlands

On 22 February 2011, Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri Rosenthal announced that the Netherlands
would evacuate about a hundred Dutch citizens from Libya using an Armed Forces transport aircraft.
After the Libyan authorities had agreed to the evacuation mission, a Royal Netherlands Air Force
KDC-10 landed at the airport of the Libyan capital on the same day at around 18.00. A total of 32
Dutch nationals and 50 citizens from other EU countries were evacuated. The frigate HNLMS Tromp,
which was on its way to participate in the NATO counterpiracy mission off the Somalian coast was
sent to Libya to help with any other evacuations.
In the afternoon of Sunday 27 February, a Lynx helicopter was deployed from HNLMS Tromp for the
evacuation of a Dutch and a Swedish citizen from the city of Sirte, which is the birthplace of
Muammar al-Gaddafi.
Upon landing on a beach near Sirte, the helicopter crew were taken prisoner by a group of armed
supporters of the Gaddafi regime. According to the Libyan government, the helicopter had entered
Libyan airspace without permission, meaning it had violated international law. The 2 evacuees were
released the same day and deported from Libya. The 3 crew members were arrested and released in
the night of 10 to 11 March 2011, following intensive negotiations with the Libyan government. The
Netherlands was supported in this by the European Union and the United States. Greece made a
Hercules transport aircraft available to transfer the helicopter crew to Athens. The Lynx helicopter
stayed behind in Libya.
The failed operation caused great commotion in the Netherlands. The ministers of Defence and
Foreign Affairs, Hans Hillen and Uri Rosenthal, had to answer a barrage of questions in Parliament as
a result. Their explanation was that, at the time of the operation, there was no alternative available.
There was a serious concern that it would be impossible to re-establish contact with the Dutch
evacuee, who worked for Royal Haskoning, if contact was lost. It was also considered to ask the
Libyan authorities for permission to enter their airspace. This turned out to be impossible because
the relevant Libyan authority was closed.
The report from the Intelligence and Security Services Supervisory Committee of 2 November 2011
stated that there had been insufficient consultation between the General Intelligence & Security
Service, the Defence Intelligence & Security Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the
operation. The Committee's report therefore recommended that coordination between those
organisations had to be improved in future.
Following the end of the Libyan civil war, the Lynx helicopter was transferred to Tripoli on 27
February 2012 in preparation of further transport over sea. The helicopter returned to the
Netherlands on 25 June 2012. It became clear that the helicopter was no longer airworthy, and it was
subsequently dismantled and scrapped.
Frigate commander
Captain R.P. Tas, HNLMS Tromp (22 February 2011 - 11 March 2011)
Updated: 16 October 2014