France’s defense minister visits Libya, deepen ties between both nations

French defense minister Gerard Longuet

To build and improve ties under the new leadership in Libya, France’s defense minister Gerard Longuet arrived in Tripoli on Friday on a three-day visit to the country.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet arrived in Tripoli on Friday on a three-day visit designed to boost cooperation with Libya, an AFP reporter said.

The trip comes shortly after the North African nation celebrated the first anniversary of the start of a popular revolt that toppled the regime of Moamer Kadhafi.

Longuet is expected to meet senior officials including Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the ruling National Transitional Council, and Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib, on how to boost ties between the two countries.

Longuet is also scheduled to visit the war-ravaged coastal city of Misrata and Benghazi in the east, where the uprising started.

Libya and France agreed to increase cooperation in maritime security and controlling the North African country’s borders.  Being strategically placed joining Africa and the Mediterranean makes it exposed.  Neighboring states, especially those across the Mediterranean in Europe are worried about Libya’s capacity to secure its Mediterranean coast, which can be used as a gateway into Europe for arms traffickers, al-Qaeda insurgents and illegal migrants.

British and French special operatives fighting along Libyan rebels

French President Nicolas Sarkozy left and British Prime Minister David Cameron right

British and French special operatives have been fighting along side Libyan rebels.

French and British operatives have been working with Libyan rebels on their eastern front, where the insurgents scored strategic blows against Moamer Kadhafi’s forces, an AFP journalist discovered on Thursday. The operatives are installed at the rebel command for the eastern front, at the dysfunctional oil refinery in Zuwaytina, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) southwest of the opposition capital Benghazi. They are equipped with telecommunications equipment and housed in two shipping containers, within walking distance of the headquarters of Fawzi Bukatif, commander of the eastern front. He has been working out of a large office with walls covered in maps and satellite photos. There are at least two Frenchmen, and several Britons in mismatched camouflage outfits. In late April, Britain, France, Italy, Egypt and the United States announced that they had sent military advisers to the National Transitional Council, the rebels’ de facto government. Britain’s Defence Minister Liam Fox said Thursday that NATO is contributing intelligence and reconnaissance equipment to the search for Kadhafi but he refused to confirm reports that Britain’s SAS special forces were working with the Libyan rebels to track down Kadhafi. “I can confirm that NATO is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC (National Transitional Council) to help them track down Colonel Kadhafi and other remnants of the regime,” who fled before advancing rebel forces on Tuesday, he told Sky News. The Ministry of Defence said Fox was referring to “various assets such as military planes.” The Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting defence sources, said SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and played a key role in coordinating the battle for Tripoli. With the majority of the capital now in rebel hands, the SAS had been ordered to switch their focus to hunting down Kadhafi, the Telegraph said. They were wearing civilian clothes and armed with the same type of weapons used by the rebel forces, the paper said. “We never comment about special forces,” Fox said in a separate interview with BBC radio. Asked what role Britain was playing on the ground in Libya, Fox told the BBC: “We have always had some advisors to the NTC (as) we have made clear from the outset, helping them with communications, helping them with logistics, the chain of command and so on. “And we would of course want to continue with those relationships.”

As previously reported before here, U.S., British, Egyptian, French and Italian special operatives have been on the ground in Libya helping the rebels fight against Gadaffi. None of what is reported is new, just a confirmation of actions that were logical from the start of the NATO enforcing the no-fly-zone over Libya.

NATO helicopters launch strikes on Libya and Gadhafi’s forces

British and French Apache Attack helicopters have been used for the first time this week in taking out radar installations and an armed checkpoint used against the rebels.

Helicopters are well suited since Gadhafi knows that he can take cover and hide within the cities knowing he can’t engage NATO forces directly. With such backing, the rebels will be able to hold, maintain the gains they have made and surely, but effectively advance towards Gadhafi’s forces.

France, Britain to deploy attack helicopters to Libya

Both France and the U.K will send attack helicopters to help fight off Qaddafi’s forces in support of the rebels cause in Libya.

Here is the British Army showing off its Apache helicopter force.

The helicopters, a weapon that has yet to be used by NATO in enforcing the no-fly-zone, will no doubt help strike Qaddafi’s military assets hidden in urban areas while avoiding civilian casualties.  Given that the rebels were under armed, disorganized as a fighting force, and needed close air support when taking on Qaddafi’s forces, this is a welcome addition to their side.  Although it would have made a big difference if they were deployed during the first days when the no-fly-zone was being enforced, it is better late than never.

France and Italy will send military officers to aid Libyan rebels

French President Nicolas Sarkozy left and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi right

France and Italy will send small teams of military officers to advise Libyan rebels who are seeking to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi.  French officials said fewer than 10 would be sent, while Italy’s defence minister announced that 10 would go.

The despatch of the military advisers underlines the growing concerns in a number of European capitals that the air campaign over Libya is not yielding the expected results. After more than four weeks of air strikes, Libyan government forces have not crumbled; the Libyan regime still seems firmly in control in Tripoli; and the rebels have shown very limited capabilities on the ground.

France for one wants to step up the air campaign, but it is clear that unless the rebels can be turned into a more effective fighting force, and without a genuine ceasefire, Nato air operations may have to continue for the foreseeable future.

The French, British and Italians are all stressing that their small deployments do not constitute “boots on the ground” – they have no intention of deploying combat troops. But some MPs in London fear that this is the thin end of the wedge and that the allies risk being drawn ever deeper into the Libyan conflict.

The officers are expected to advise rebel leaders on how to organize their ragtag forces, now struggling against Gaddafi’s better-armed and -trained army. They will also liaise with NATO on the location of rebels and Gaddafi’s troops.  This comes after the U.K. decided to go ahead and send military adivisers to help coordinate the air strikes against Col Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Video: United Nations and French forces fire on Gbagbo bases in Abidjan

The United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters Monday on the arsenal of Ivory Coast’s entrenched ruler, as columns of foot soldiers finally pierced the city limit. The fighters aiming to topple Laurent Gbagbo after a decade in power had succeeded in taking nearly the entire countryside in just three days last week, but they faltered once they reached the country’s largest city, where the presidential palace and residence are located. Monday’s offensive marked an unprecedented escalation in the international community’s efforts to oust Gbagbo, who lost the presidential election in November yet has refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara even as the world’s largest cocoa producer teetered on the brink of all-out civil war.

Video: French APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers) rolling through Abidjan as Ivory Coast

Ivorians in Abidjan ventured out of their homes on Wednesday, some to collect water, as the city remained tense with the country’s strongman Laurent Gbagbo holed up in a subterranean bunker and forces backing his rival Alassane Ouattara assaulting his residence to try to force him out. Some local residents cheered on the side of a road as French armoured personnel carriers drove by. United Nations attack helicopters helped by French troops bombarded the ruler’s arsenal late Monday, acting on a Security Council resolution

Video: French Mirage 2000 fighter jets in mid-air refuel over Libya

The French military has released video footage of its fighter aircraft re-fuelling over Libya.

Video: French jets bombing Libya ammunition dump, rebels fire rockets

The French military has released a video it claims shows French fighter jets bombing a Libyan ammunitions depot south of Tripoli on March 28th. The 32 seconds black and white sequence appears to show five explosions as munitions hit their targets, which the French military said were in Gharyan, 100 kilometres south of Tripoli. Meanwhile the U.S. is reportedly sending CIA teams into Libya to gather intelligence and set up links with rebels. It comes as doubts grow about the exact makeup of the movement to oust Colonel Gadaffi. That’s prompted criticism of plans to arm them, with NATO officials themselves admitting they fear that Al-Qaeda fighters are among the rebels.

France tries to revive its former glory

Taking the lead in the conflict in Libya has paid off politically for President Sarkozy. Many French now see him as a dashing champion of freedom.In France, it’s considered a question of honor to defend human rights and democracy — militarily, if need be. Even the opposition lends its support. NATO has meanwhile officially assumed command of the Libya mission, but Nicolas Sarkozy is skilled at playing that down and underlining his own role. He has also distanced himself from the Germans and pacifism. France is trying to reassert its historical influence in North Africa.

The recent events in Libya and Ivory coast have given France a chance to flex its influence in the region explicitly. The actions from the French point of view signify to the region and to the rest of the world for that matter; that France still does matters when it comes having a say in African affairs even though China’s influence has grown rapidly of the past few years.