Operation Safe Homecoming was an operation launched by the Indian government on 26 February 2011 to evacuate its citizens who were fleeing from the Libyan Civil War. [1] [2] The air-sea operation was conducted by the Indian Navy and Air India. [2] The last such operation was during the 2006 Lebanon War, when the Indian Navy and Air India were used in Operation Sukoon; before that, India evacuated 111,711 nationals after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. [2] [3] [4]
The Libyan Civil War began as a series of protests and confrontations in the North African state of Libya against the government and its leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The social unrest began on 15 February 2011, and became a civil war which continued until 23 October of that year. The unrest was attributed to uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, connecting it to the wider Arab Spring. [5] According to NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, who reached the city of Tobruk on 22 February, "The protest movement is no longer a protest movement, it's a war. It's open revolt." [6] That day, The Economist described the events as an "uprising that is trying to reclaim Libya from the world's longest-ruling autocrat." [7] Gaddafi blamed the uprising on al-Qaeda and "drugged kids". [8]
Eighteen thousand Indian nationals working in Libya were trapped because of the unrest. [2] Evacuation appeared to be difficult due to "chaos" at the central airport in Tripoli, [9] a "destroyed" runway at Benina International Airport, [10] and the temporary closure of Libyan ports. [11]
India ordered three naval ships—two destroyers (the INS Mysore, and INS Aditya) [12] and its largest amphibious vessel, the INS Jalashwa—to sail from Mumbai to Libya on 26 February. [13] [14] It chartered the 1,200-seat MV Scotia Prince [2] and the 1,600-seat La Superba, [2] based in Sicily, to sail to Libya as soon as port preparations were completed. The MV Scotia Prince set sail from Port Said on 26 February, and reached Benghazi two days later. [2] The navy and charter ships evacuated passengers from Tripoli and Benghazi to Alexandria, and Air India flew the passengers from Egypt to India. [15] Although the naval ships reached the Libyan coast by 8 March, [16] much of the evacuation had already been carried out by the chartered ships and aircraft. [17] The Indian government announced that the evacuation would be free of charge. [18]
After Libyan authorities gave India permission to land in Tripoli, [18] two Air India planes (a Boeing 747 and an Airbus A330) flew 500 passengers to New Delhi and Mumbai from Tripoli. [2] Additional landing rights were requested for flights from Sabha Airport, where about 1,000 people were awaiting evacuation. [19] In addition to Sabha, India was given permission to land planes at Sirte [20] where another 1,000 Indians awaited evacuation. [21] On 2 March, the Indian government ordered all private airlines to fly one flight each to Libya. The following day, two carriers (Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines) [22] flew Indian nationals who had been ferried to Malta from the Luqa airport. On 3 March, an Indian Air Force Il-76 plane flew Indians to Cairo from Sirte. [19]
Several Indian citizens had been crossing Libya into neighbouring countries overland. Some reached Sallum, Egypt from Tobruk and were met at the border by Indian embassy officials, who arranged a flight to Mumbai. [12] Eighty-eight Indian citizens entered Tunisia at Ras Ajdir.
Indian Mariners Capt KP Rajagopal and Capt R Venkataramanan found the ship MV Scotia Prince, IMO No 7119836 negotiated, chartered it on behalf of Govt Of India Min of shipping through Shipping Corporation of India and CO-ORDINATED the program, joining of Crew, Replenishment of stores, Training of CREW and MEA Staff and routing. MV Scotia Price made 2 round voyages evacuating 1187 stranded Indian (including 8 infants) in the first voyage and 972 stranded Indian in the 2nd Voyage. The Job was done by the above two captains on a “Pro-Bono” basis for the sake of our nation and in the interest of the humanity while the Indian naval ships INS Mysore, INS Adithya and INS Jalashwa were waiting outside the territorial zone for escort duties if necessary. The operation necessitated 3 weeks of intense activities round the clock with continuous monitoring, reporting/ liaising with following salient features.
On 5 March 2011, the Indian government announced that the evacuation would be completed by 10 March. [23] After the evacuation of more than 15,000 Indian nationals, the operation ended on 11 March. [24] About 3,000 Indian citizens decided to remain in Libya. [24]
USS Trenton (LPD-14) was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital of New Jersey. In 2007, it was sold to the Indian Navy and renamed INS Jalashwa.
USS Nashville (LPD-13), was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock and the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital city of Tennessee. Her keel was laid down on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 7 October 1967 sponsored by Mrs. Roy L. Johnson, and commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970.
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.
INS Mysore is a Delhi-class guided-missile destroyer currently in active service with the Indian Navy.
INS Mumbai is the third of the Delhi-class guided-missile destroyers in active service with the Indian Navy.
Operation Sukoon was an operation launched by the Indian Navy to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, as well as Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War.
INS Jalashwa is an amphibious transport dock currently in service with the Indian Navy. Formerly USS Trenton, she, along with six Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters were procured from the United States by India for a total of US$90 million in 2005. She was commissioned on 22 June 2007. INS Jalashwa is the only Indian naval ship to be acquired from the United States. She is based in Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command.
INS Magar was the lead ship of Magar-class amphibious warfare vessels of the Indian Navy. She was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata and was commissioned by Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, Chief of the Naval Staff on 15 July 1987. The ship has a length of 120 metres and a beam of 17.5 metres. The main weapon systems of the ship consist of CRN 91 Guns, chaff launcher (Kavach) and the WM-18A Rocket launcher. The ship also carries four landing craft vehicle personnel (LCVP) on board, which can be used for the landing of troops.
INS Kulish is a Kora-class corvette, currently in active service with the Indian Navy. She was ordered in October 1994, and the keel was laid in October 1995. The ship was launched in August 1997 and was commissioned on 20 August 2001.
INS Garuda, is an Indian naval air station located in Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Commissioned on 11 May 1953, it is the oldest operating air station of the Indian Navy.
The Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971 refers to the maritime military engagements between the Indian Navy and the Pakistan Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The series of naval operations began with the Indian Navy's exertion of pressure on Pakistan from the Indian Ocean, while the Indian Army and Indian Air Force moved in to choke Pakistani forces operating in East Pakistan on land. Indian naval operations comprised naval interdiction, air defence, ground support, and logistics missions.
The international reactions to the Libyan Civil War were the responses to the series of protests and military confrontations occurring in Libya against the government of Libya and its de facto head of state Muammar Gaddafi.
INS Utkrosh, is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located near naval base INS Jarawa on Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The procurement of Landing Platform Docks (LPD) by the Indian Navy, formerly known as the "Multi-Role Support Vessel Program" (MRSV) - is an initiative of the Indian Navy (IN) to procure a series of landing platform docks, specific vessels dedicated to amphibious warfare, as part of the service's strategy to augment its capabilities of amphibious warfare, disaster-response, humanitarian assistance and auxiliary duties.
India–Libya relations are bilateral diplomatic relations between India and Libya. India maintains an embassy in Tripoli and Libya has an embassy in New Delhi.
INS Sunayna is the second Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.
INS Sumitra is the fourth and last Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed by Goa Shipyard Limited. It is also the presidential yacht of India. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.
Operation Raahat was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in that country during the Yemeni Crisis. The evacuation by sea began on 1 April 2015 from the port of Aden. The air evacuation by the Indian Air Force and Air India commenced on 3 April 2015 from Sana'a. More than 4,640 Indian citizens in Yemen were evacuated along with 960 foreign nationals from 41 countries. The air evacuation ended on 9 April 2015 while the evacuation by sea ended on 11 April 2015.
Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX) is an inter-service military exercise involving the participation of the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast Guard. The exercise generally commences at the beginning of each year and lasts a month. It is generally carried out in three phrases: independent workup phase, joint workup phase and tactical phase.
Tabassum Mansoor was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh and she obtained a Bachelors of Education from Aligarh Muslim University. Tabassum has been working for over 30 years in the field of primary education and social welfare in Benghazi, Libya. She is the Managing Director and Principal of Indian International School, Benghazi.
As the situation deteriorated, a multi-pronged evacuation of Indian nationals, by air, sea, and land route, was started under Operation'safe Homecoming on 26 February 2011.
Qaddafi, speaking by telephone on state television yesterday, blamed the uprising against his 41-year rule on 'drugged kids' and al-Qaeda.
