A maritime coalition is set up off Libya (maj2)
(BRUSSELS2) Warships arrive, one by one, off Libya. As political decisions are made, road time required, it will take approximately 2 to 5 days for a sufficient coalition to be assembled off the coast of Libya.
The good old giant aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) which was a few days ago off Somalia (in an attempt to regain control of the S.V. Quest) is - according to the latest US Navy situation update - near the Suez Canal and could be in the Mediterranean in a few days. And theUSS Mount Whitney is already in the area. The Pentagon confirmed on Monday this redeployment of ships without specifying the objective. (*) The Uss Enterprise is normally not alone. He is accompanied by his whole group, that is to say the missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and the combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8). All communications with the families have been subject to "restriction". (**) Already, the amphibious assault ship, helicopter carrier USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) with 400 marines and theUSS Ponce will cross the canal, said Robert Gates, Tuesday, the US Minister of Defense. details here
On the French side, the emergency is humanitarian, not military
On the French side, the frigate Tourville was in Malta while waiting to join Spain for a NATO maneuver which will bring together around twenty ships, 4 submarines and 4 maritime patrol aircraft, off the coast of Spain. While the PCB Mistral accompanied by the anti-submarine frigate Georges Leygues left Brest on Monday, heading for Djibouti and are due to pass off Libya by the end of the week. (*) But for France, military intervention "is not not the priority » as Laurent Wauquiez, the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, who prefers to bet on the delivery of humanitarian aid, reminded us.
(NVP)
(*) Updated Tuesday 13 p.m. (**) Updated Tuesday 20 p.m.
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