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Britain
SAS rescue Britons from Libya; oil workers stranded?
2011-02-27
In a daylight mission, the RAF, Special Air Service and Special Boat Service used two specially equipped Hercules aircraft to snatch Britons from the country. However, it is feared up to 300 oil workers from the UK remain stranded.

The rescue teams, who flew out of bases in Malta, searched an area four times the size of Britain to locate workers before evacuating them back to Valletta in Malta last night. They were given food and water and medical assistance before being taken to hotels to rest. They will begin arriving home today.

Within hours of them arriving back to safety, the international community ratcheted up the pressure on the Libyan dictator as the security situation in the country deteriorated. The British embassy in Tripoli was closed and its staff hurriedly evacuated.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, disclosed that a major international diplomatic offensive against the dictator was starting.

In a series of developments:

  • Witnesses in Tripoli told of deaths at mosques and of armed men around the city. Elsewhere in the country, pro-Gaddafi forces were said to have fired on civilians from helicopters.

  • The Sunday Telegraph met captured African mercenaries who Col Gaddafi had paid to prop up his regime, including a 16-year-old boy handed a gun and then told to go out and massacre protesters.

  • Billions of pounds of Libyan assets are set to be frozen in Britain, including shareholdings in a major publishing company and large amounts of property.

  • The Government is pushing for an arms embargo, a travel ban and a war crimes investigation into the crackdown on demonstrators, which appears to be reaching new heights of brutality.
    • Posted by:lotp

    #14  But why are there any Americans, not connected w/ the embassy, in Libya.

    Because they can?
    Posted by: Pappy   2011-02-27 21:20  

    #13  So the UK went in, and they didn't the PoS they released on the way out? Don't get me wrong, I think they did great work getting their people out. Just think it was a missed opportunity.
    Posted by: Charles   2011-02-27 21:17  

    #12  A late friend of mine who had done pipeline work there said it compared negatively to Nigeria.
    Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2011-02-27 20:55  

    #11  Since no one has said it yet. The RAF, SAS and SBS RULE!!!
    Clearly the British Lion still has a few good roars left. Keep it up guys!
    Rifle308
    Posted by: Rifle 308   2011-02-27 19:53  

    #10  Given our past recent history with Libya, I'm with PG1127. I'd be as shocked as all get-out that there were more than a couple of dozen American citizens, over and above embassy employees and family members and stray tourists in the whole bloody wretched country. But then, I've been leading a sheltered life since I retired from the Air Force.
    Posted by: Sgt.Mom   2011-02-27 19:30  

    #9  Only 20-25% of the passengers were American. But why are there any Americans, not connected w/ the embassy, in Libya.
    Posted by: Pearl Gleaper1127   2011-02-27 18:02  

    #8  The Telegraph just reported Sunday night missions by the RAF, SAS & SBS. Another 150 evacuated.
    Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-02-27 18:01  

    #7  A friend of mine got out just days before the "festivities" began. There are quite a few Americans in Libya - maybe as many as 5000, I don't know. I do know that HRC didn't know either. In that kind of situation, SMART planners plan for more, not less. As for ferries, some of the ferries in the Med can carry as many as 1000 passengers at a time.
    Posted by: Old Patriot   2011-02-27 16:59  

    #6  Yeah, but maybe it would be nice to have a bigger one to help someone else out.

    There was an issue as to whether the vessel could handle the seas, which leads one to presume that it was a local-hire by a local embassy employee.

    As to "help someone else out"... they likely would not have met the State's demographic requirements for assistance.
    Posted by: Pappy   2011-02-27 16:06  

    #5  In fairness, it just didn't seem that there were that many Americans in Libya needing to scram in a hurry.

    Yeah, but maybe it would be nice to have a bigger one to help someone else out.
    Posted by: gorb   2011-02-27 13:36  

    #4  And not a very large one.

    Budget cuts, you know...
    Posted by: Pappy   2011-02-27 09:20  

    #3  In fairness, it just didn't seem that there were that many Americans in Libya needing to scram in a hurry.
    Posted by: Sgt.Mom   2011-02-27 08:26  

    #2  And not a very large one.
    Posted by: lotp   2011-02-27 06:57  

    #1  In other news, HRC sent a ferry for the Americans. A Ferry.
    Posted by: newc   2011-02-27 01:50  

    00:00