al-Qaida Snatched Missiles in Libya: Chad President

PARIS - al-Qaeda's offshoot in North Africa has snatched surface-to-air missiles from an arsenal in Libya during the civil strife there, Chad's president said in an interview to be published March 28.
Idriss Deby Itno did not say how many were stolen, but told the African weekly Jeune Afrique that he was "100 percent sure" of his assertion.

"The Islamists of al-Qaida took advantage of the pillaging of arsenals in the rebel zone to acquire arms, including surface-to-air missiles, which were then smuggled into their sanctuaries in Tenere," a desert region of the Sahara that stretches from northeast Niger to western Chad, Deby said in the interview.
"This is very serious. AQIM (al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb) is becoming a genuine army, the best equipped in the region," he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Chad's president backed the assertion by his neighbor and erstwhile enemy, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, that the protests in Libya have been driven in part by Al Qaeda.
"There is a partial truth in what he says," Deby said. "Up to what point? I don't know. But I am certain that AQIM took an active part in the uprising."
After years of tension between the two nations, which were at war during part of the 1980s, Deby has more recently maintained good relations with Gadhafi.
The Chadian leader described the international military intervention in Libya, launched a week ago by the United States, France and Britain, as a "hasty decision."
"It could have heavy consequences for the stability of the region and the spread of terrorism in Europe, the Mediterranean and the rest of Africa," he cautioned.
Deby denied assertions that mercenaries had been recruited in Chad to fight for Kadhafi, though some of the several thousand Chad nationals in Libya may have joined the fight "on their own."
AQIM originated as an armed Islamist resistance movement to the secular Algerian government.
Today, it operates mainly in Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, where it has attacked military targets and taken civilian hostages.

Turkey Probes Foiled Traffic in Pistols to Yemen

ANKARA - Turkey's foreign ministry announced March 25 that a probe had begun into a bid to smuggle 16,000 pistols from Turkey to Yemen which was foiled by police in Dubai.
"An investigation into this affair is being carried out in coordination with all the competent authorities," a ministry statement said, a day after Dubai's police announced the seizure of the weapons and the arrest of six suspects.

"This attempt to transfer weapons is not based on any permit delivered by our official authorities," added the statement, which noted that Turkey imposes strict regulations on the export of arms to conflict zones.
"It is not possible to authorize such an export, which could lead to the further loss of human life in Yemen," where the government in Sanaa has faced mounting protests in the past two months, the statement said.
On March 24, the Dubai police announced that they had seized the consignment of pistols made in Turkey, which were apparently destined for Saada in northern Yemen, the stronghold of Shiite rebels.
Six Arab residents of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member, were arrested in connection with the affair. The pistols were concealed in a container of furniture.
The arms seizure comes amid mounting protests in Yemen against the regime of President Ali Abdallah Saleh, which are part of the wave of revolt that has swept some Arab nations since Tunisia's president was ousted in January.

Germany Shifts AWACS Troops From Libya Ops

BONN - The German parliament voted March 25 to approve the deployment of up to 300 soldiers to support NATO's AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes over Afghanistan.
The Bundestag vote, by a tally of 407-113, followed Germany's abstention from the U.N. Security Council's vote on March 17 to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. Germany will not take part in military missions in Libya.

"Because we have decided this, we have therefore [decided] to withdraw our mission as part of AWACS" aircraft that are operating in the Mediterranean, said Secretary of State Guido Westerwelle.
This move is a sign that Germany will not be neutral and does not want to endanger its allies in Libya, he said. Without the German presence in Afghanistan, NATO would not have been able to operate its AWACS planes in the Mediterranean, he said.
Germany withdrew its naval vessels from alliance operations in the Mediterranean a couple of days ago, after NATO decided to enforce a weapons embargo against Libya. A frigate, a minehunter and a reconnaissance vessel with about 300 sailors are still in the Mediterranean, but now under national command.
The AWACS mandate is scheduled to run until Jan. 31, 2012, and as long as there is a mandate of the U.N. Security Council.

French Willing to Assume Command of Libyan Air Ops

PARIS - France is capable of providing the command and control for the multinational military forces ranged against Libya in support of U.N. resolution 1973, which is aimed at protecting the civilian population and enforcing a no-fly zone, a French defense spokesman said.

A French Rafale jet fighter prepares to land March 21 at the aerial military base of Solenzara in Corsica. (Stephan Agostini / AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. authorities provide the command structure that coordinates national contributions, and American officials have said they would like to hand over the command to the allies leading the European effort, namely Britain and France.

Asked if France has the means for assuming the command role, Army Col. Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the Joint Staff, told the daily briefing on French operations in Libya, "France has the means."
Each country proposes its military capabilities in the Libyan theater and the U.S. command structure "deconflicts" them, deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Philippe Pontiès said.
Any NATO involvement in the command structure would be in a "support" role, Pontiès said.
France opposes the command function being assumed by NATO, which French officials view as highly bureaucratic, daily Le Monde reported.
The U.S. Ramstein base in Germany has the most extensive facilities for the command mission, French Defense Ministry spokesman Laurent Teissere told journalists.
On the third day of air operations over Libya, dubbed Operation Harmattan, the French Air Force had flown more than 55 sorties and over 400 hours, Burkhard said. The aircraft did not fire on the third day, he said.
Amid international concern over the bombardment of Libya over the weekend by coalition forces, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said March 21 that the allies' action had prevented a "bloodbath" in Benghazi by saving civilian lives in the city.
Some 20 aircraft had flown on March 22 to enforce the no-fly zone, as Rafale and Mirage 2000 jets patrolled the skies over Benghazi, flying air superiority missions and threatening ground strikes against Libyan Army armor. They were supported by in-flight refueling tankers and airborne warning and control systems aircraft. The Corsican airbase of Solenzara has become the base for those combat aircraft.
As announced, the Charles de Gaulle carrier and its task force would arrive on station off the Libyan coast on March 22, and its fleet of Rafales and Super Etendard fighters would be operational over Libya "as of tomorrow," a French defense spokesman said.

Putin Announces Doubling of Missile Production

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said March 21 that Russia will double production of missile systems beginning in 2013 as the government plans to spend $2.7 billion to launch their serial production until 2020.
"New missile weapons, strategic and tactical, such as Yars, Bulava and Iskander-M, will enter service, and beginning in 2013 the production output of missile systems should effectively double," Putin said.

Speaking in Votkinsk at a government meeting dedicated to the $670 billion 2011-2020 state arms procurement program, Putin added that the local Votkinsk plant will get $340 million for its modernization within the next three years. Other companies involved in the same production chain with the Votkinsk plant will get $190 million to upgrade their equipment in the next three years, the prime minister said.
The Votkinsk plant, launched in the Volga region Udmurtia republic in 1984, produces the Topol-M, Yars and Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are expected to remain the core of Russia's strategic nuclear forces for decades ahead.
Putin, who visited the plant March 21, called it "the most key one in the whole industry," adding that it will enjoy guaranteed state defense orders.
Under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, which went into effect in February, both countries should have up to 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 deployed launchers. According to the official disclosure, Russia now has more than 4,000 nuclear warheads and over 800 deployed launchers.

UAE Says Role in Libya Limited to Aid

ABU DHABI - The United Arab Emirates said on March 21 that its involvement in Libya is limited to humanitarian assistance, after reports that it would send warplanes to patrol a U.N.-backed no-fly zone.
The UAE's "role in Libya is strictly confined to delivery of humanitarian assistance," a statement on official WAM news agency said.

Italian news agency ANSA had reported that planes from the UAE were expected to arrive at an Italian air force base March 20 to take part in operations over Libya.
An international coalition has carried out air and missile strikes on forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya to stop government forces crushing a popular uprising.
The UAE, along with Jordan, Morocco and Qatar, was among the Arab nations which took part in a summit in Paris on March 19 on the Libyan crisis.

Turkey Irked by Libya Air Strikes, Seeks NATO Clarification

ANKARA - Turkey criticized on March 21 the Western-led coalition air strikes on Libya and said it was awaiting clarification on a possible role for NATO in the operation.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country is NATO's sole Muslim-majority member, criticized the way the coalition force that began bombing Libya at the weekend was formed following the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire and authorizing a no-fly zone.

"There is a certain procedure under international law for the formation of such coalitions. We do not believe that this procedure was sufficiently observed," he told reporters.
He stressed the international community's objective in Libya should be "not to launch of a large-scale war" similar to those in Afghanistan and Iraq but "to provide humanitarian aid, stop the escalation of fighting through an arms embargo and prevent clashes through a no-fly zone."
At a meeting in Brussels on March 20, Turkey effectively delayed a NATO decision on possible action in Libya as it called for a review of existing plans and stressed that civilians must be protected.
"We asked very legitimate questions and it was not an effort to hinder anything," Davutoglu said of the March 20 meeting.
"Those are questions about principles, about how operations under U.N. leadership should be carried out and how consultations should take place within NATO... There will be another session today to answer those questions," he said, referring to a meeting in Brussels later March 21
The minister stressed that any contribution that Turkey might offer would be aimed "at laying the ground for peace, stability (in Libya) and lasting Turkish-Libyan friendship."
Earlier, Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said Ankara was perplexed by France's leadership in the air strikes, Anatolia news agency reported.
"It does not seem quite possible for us to understand France's being so much at the forefront in this action. We have difficulties in understanding (its action) as if it is the implementer of the UN resolution," Gonul was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to discuss the situation with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call later March 21 when he returns from a visit to Saudi Arabia, Davutoglu said.
Erdogan has voiced hope the ongoing military operations will be over "as quickly as possible".