Western Military Interventions After The Cold War by Marek Madej;

Author:Marek Madej;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781351175005
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2018-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

6.3 The course of the intervention

The key condition that had to be met for the armed NATO intervention to succeed was that Libyan government forces quickly become overpowered. In early 2011 Libya’s armed forces consisted of approximately 80,000 active soldiers, including 40,000 conscripts. They had approximately 220 combat aircraft, 35 helicopters, 2,200 tanks, 950 armoured personnel carriers and more than 40 naval vessels. It is estimated, however, that some 50 per cent of the equipment and weapons were defective or otherwise not in working order. For more than a decade before the intervention the condition of Libyan materiel had been deteriorating because of international sanctions. Furthermore, only 10,000–12,000 soldiers loyal to Gaddafi participated in the fighting because the dictator did not trust those remaining and some units quickly defected to the rebels. The regular forces were supported by battalions of mercenaries, mainly from Chad. They were opposed by approximately 17,000 volunteer fighters, among whom some 1,000 had military training. The intervening forces, an international coalition, deployed approximately 350 combat aircraft, of which half were US Air Force, and 38 warships, including 12 of the US Navy.18

The first sign of Western military involvement in the conflict in Libya was the permanent observation of Libyan airspace by AWACS aircraft that began on 10 March 2011. At that time, France also sent its fighters on monitoring missions to Libya. After the UNSC decision of 17 March 2011 on establishing a no-fly zone over Libya, the enforcement operation was joined by several other countries, but with no unified command. Even before diplomatic talks on a coalition were concluded, France began military operations. They were subsequently joined, in a not entirely coordinated manner, by the UK and Canada, as well as the US and the other participants. At that time, Gaddafi’s forces were in the process of executing an offensive launched on 6 March. Within two weeks they recaptured a number of the important towns, pushing rebel forces back to Benghazi, which became the last bastion of organised resistance. The threat of inevitable fall of the city and the expected atrocities hastened the decision on the military intervention.

On 19 March the interveners began military strikes by aircraft and missiles, initially aimed against Libyan counter-air defence systems. Within days, the list of targets was expanded to include large concentrations of Libyan forces. On 23 March, once it had been agreed that NATO would take command of the military activities, Operation Unified Protector began. It was initially limited to the enforcement of the embargo on arms supplies to Libya, but from 25 March it also included the enforcement of the no-fly zone. NATO took full control over the ongoing air and naval operation on 31 March.19

As a result of decisive action by the coalition, the situation of the rebels changed enough so that they could soon take the offensive. On 21–22 March, the rebels launched operations in the east of the country, pushing government forces away from Benghazi, and by the end of the month they managed to retake much of what they had lost earlier that month.

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