NATO and Libya

Operational Media Update for 20 October 2011 and Statement on NATO strike in Sirte area of 20 October 2011

21 October. Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ
(more information: www.jfcnaples.nato.int)
 
Mission
NATO took control of all military operations for Libya under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 & 1973 on 31 March 2011. The aim of Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under attack or threat of attack.

The mission consists  of three elements: an arms embargo, a no-fly-zone and actions to protect civilians from attack or the threat of attack.

Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:

Air Operations
Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR air assets continue monitoring missions over Libya.
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 06.00GMT) a total of 26,156 sorties, including        9,634 strike sorties*, have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 20 OCTOBER: 67
Strike sorties conducted 20 OCTOBER: 16

*Strike sorties are intended to identify and engage appropriate targets, but do not necessarily deploy munitions each time.

Key Hits 20 OCTOBER:                                
11 Armed Vehicles were struck in the vicinity of Sirte**

** For further information on the NATO strike yesterday, please see statement hereunder.

Arms Embargo Activities
A total of 12 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
14 Vessels were hailed on 20 OCTOBER to determine destination and cargo. 0 boardings (0 denied) were conducted.
A total of 3098 vessels have been hailed, 296 boardings and 11 denials have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO
Total of Humanitarian Movements***2139: (air, maritime)
Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 20 OCTOBER: 0
Aircraft delivering Humanitarian Assistance 20 OCTOBER: 4

***Some humanitarian movements cover several days.

Command and Control
NATO’s operational commander for Operation Unified Protector is Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard of the Canadian Air Force. His office and staff is located at the Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

For more information: www.nato.int/libya

NATO strike in Sirte area  20 October 2011 

NAPLES – Now that NATO has had the opportunity to conduct a post strike assessment of yesterday’s strike, we are able to provide a more comprehensive picture of events.

At approximately 08h30 local time (GMT+2) on Thursday 20 October 2011, NATO aircraft struck 11 pro-Qadhafi military vehicles which were part of a larger group of approximately 75 vehicles manoeuvring in the vicinity of Sirte.   These armed vehicles were leaving Sirte at high speed and were attempting to force their way around the outskirts of the city. The vehicles were carrying a substantial amount of weapons and ammunition posing a significant threat to the local civilian population.

The convoy was engaged by a NATO aircraft to reduce the threat. Initially, only one vehicle was destroyed, which disrupted the convoy and resulted in many vehicles dispersing and changing direction.

After the disruption, a group of approximately 20 vehicles continued at great speed to proceed in a southerly direction, due west of Sirte, and continuing to pose a significant threat. NATO engaged these vehicles with another air asset. The post strike assessment revealed that approximately 10 pro-Qadhafi vehicles were destroyed or damaged.

At the time of the strike, NATO did not know that Qadhafi was in the convoy. NATO’s intervention was conducted solely to reduce the threat towards the civilian population, as required to do under our UN mandate. As a matter of policy, NATO does not target individuals.

We later learned from open sources and Allied intelligence that Qadhafi was in the convoy and that the strike likely contributed to his capture.

NATO does not divulge specific information on national assets involved in operations.

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