Operation Libelle ("Dragonfly" in German) was an evacuation operation of the German Armed Forces that took place on March 14, 1997 in the Albanian capital of Tirana during the Albanian Civil War. In the same week, American,[1]British,[2] and Italian military forces evacuated their citizens from Albania. Operation Libelle was the first time since World War II that German infantry fired shots in combat.[3]
In March 1997 several Western states evacuated their citizens. Operation Libelle was launched after a fraudulent pyramid scheme collapsed and a significant number of Albanian citizens lost their life savings. As a consequence, an armed rebellion took hold in large parts of Albania, and the Albanian government lost control.[4]
The crisis eventually culminated in the Albanian Civil War. After the Military of Albania and police armories were looted by insurgents, criminals, and civilians, large parts of the country descended into chaos and violence.[5]
Legal basisedit
The Federal Republic of Germany relied on the recognized doctrine "right to rescue nationals". There have been allegations, that this doctrine of international law suffers from insufficient State practice. Because of the urgency that arose when in March 1997 German citizens barricaded themselves in the German Embassy in Tirana, Albania, the executive of the German government did not seek parliamentary approval, which was required according to the German Federal Constitutional Court. In a judgement from 1994, the German Federal Constitutional Court held that any foreign deployment of German military personnel for combat or peacekeeping requires the consent of the Bundestag, that is the German federal parliament.[6]
Timelineedit
March 13
On the eve of the operation, the German Minister of Defence, Volker Rühe, decided to reduce the reaction time of German Forces in case of emergency in Albania and ordered the frigateNiedersachsen to enter Albanian waters.
March 14
Five CH-53G heavy transport helicopters with 89 soldiers from the German SFOR contingent headed from Bosnia to Dubrovnik, Croatia. At the same time in Germany, three C-160 transport planes had been held in readiness to fly to the Balkans. The Niedersachsen waited in readiness in the port of Durrës, Albania.
11.30 am - The German Government under ChancellorHelmut Kohl decided to deploy German Forces to evacuate the embassy. Because the German military cannot operate abroad without a permission of the German Parliament, the Government employed emergency rules and only informed the leaders of the parliament and the Defence Committee about the planned operation. The C-160s flew to Podgorica, Montenegro. The task force, consisting of CH-53s and soldiers from combat, supporting, and medical units, lifted off to Tirana.
3.39 pm - Although American Forces had cancelled a separate evacuation operation in Tirana after a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was hit by small arms fire, Colonel Glawatz decided to continue the approach. The first CH-53 landed on an abandoned airfield near the outskirts of Tirana. Perimeter security was established and the civilians started to board the helicopters. Insurgents in armoured personnel carrier approached the area and attacked the escaping civilians. As the German units returned fire, additional gunmen opened fire from the edge of the air strip. At least 188 rounds were fired at the evacuation force, and one CH-53 helicopter was hit and lightly damaged.[7] At least one Albanian was wounded.[8]
4.09 pm - the last helicopter left Tirana.
The helicopters returned to Montenegro with the refugees after the successful end of the operation; they were then transported to Germany.[9]
^Tom Ruys (2010). 'Armed Attack' and Article 51 of the UN Charter: Evolutions in Customary Law and Practice. Cambridge University Press. pp. 231–232. ISBN9781139494830.
^"Political Unrest in Albania". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
^Dieter Fleck, ed. (2018). The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN9780198808404.
^Operation "Libelle" Tirana '97: Das erste Gefecht der Bundeswehr RP Online, 14 March 2007
^Laurin, Carin (2005). Baltic Yearbook of International Law, 2005 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p. 71, ISBN9004147888
^"Evacuations from Albania proceed amid a hail of bullets". CNN. 14 March 1997. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
December 18, 2023
operation, libelle, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Operation Libelle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Operation Libelle Dragonfly in German was an evacuation operation of the German Armed Forces that took place on March 14 1997 in the Albanian capital of Tirana during the Albanian Civil War In the same week American 1 British 2 and Italian military forces evacuated their citizens from Albania Operation Libelle was the first time since World War II that German infantry fired shots in combat 3 Operation DragonflyPart of the Albanian Civil WarMap showing the route of the German helicoptersDateMarch 12 14 1997LocationTirana AlbaniaResultGerman victoryBelligerentsGermanyAlbanian InsurgentsCommanders and leadersOberst Henning GlawatzUnknownStrength gt about 100 menUnknownCasualties and lossesNo casualties1 helicopter damagedUnknown number of insurgents woundedNo reported deaths Contents 1 Situation in Albania 2 Legal basis 3 Timeline 4 List of evacuated persons 5 ReferencesSituation in Albania editIn March 1997 several Western states evacuated their citizens Operation Libelle was launched after a fraudulent pyramid scheme collapsed and a significant number of Albanian citizens lost their life savings As a consequence an armed rebellion took hold in large parts of Albania and the Albanian government lost control 4 The crisis eventually culminated in the Albanian Civil War After the Military of Albania and police armories were looted by insurgents criminals and civilians large parts of the country descended into chaos and violence 5 Legal basis editThe Federal Republic of Germany relied on the recognized doctrine right to rescue nationals There have been allegations that this doctrine of international law suffers from insufficient State practice Because of the urgency that arose when in March 1997 German citizens barricaded themselves in the German Embassy in Tirana Albania the executive of the German government did not seek parliamentary approval which was required according to the German Federal Constitutional Court In a judgement from 1994 the German Federal Constitutional Court held that any foreign deployment of German military personnel for combat or peacekeeping requires the consent of the Bundestag that is the German federal parliament 6 Timeline editMarch 13 On the eve of the operation the German Minister of Defence Volker Ruhe decided to reduce the reaction time of German Forces in case of emergency in Albania and ordered the frigate Niedersachsen to enter Albanian waters March 14 Five CH 53G heavy transport helicopters with 89 soldiers from the German SFOR contingent headed from Bosnia to Dubrovnik Croatia At the same time in Germany three C 160 transport planes had been held in readiness to fly to the Balkans The Niedersachsen waited in readiness in the port of Durres Albania 11 30 am The German Government under Chancellor Helmut Kohl decided to deploy German Forces to evacuate the embassy Because the German military cannot operate abroad without a permission of the German Parliament the Government employed emergency rules and only informed the leaders of the parliament and the Defence Committee about the planned operation The C 160s flew to Podgorica Montenegro The task force consisting of CH 53s and soldiers from combat supporting and medical units lifted off to Tirana 3 39 pm Although American Forces had cancelled a separate evacuation operation in Tirana after a UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter was hit by small arms fire Colonel Glawatz decided to continue the approach The first CH 53 landed on an abandoned airfield near the outskirts of Tirana Perimeter security was established and the civilians started to board the helicopters Insurgents in armoured personnel carrier approached the area and attacked the escaping civilians As the German units returned fire additional gunmen opened fire from the edge of the air strip At least 188 rounds were fired at the evacuation force and one CH 53 helicopter was hit and lightly damaged 7 At least one Albanian was wounded 8 4 09 pm the last helicopter left Tirana The helicopters returned to Montenegro with the refugees after the successful end of the operation they were then transported to Germany 9 List of evacuated persons editCountry NumberGermany nbsp 22Hungary nbsp 14Japan nbsp 13Austria nbsp 11Czech Republic nbsp 5Denmark nbsp 3Peru nbsp 3Switzerland nbsp 3Egypt nbsp 2Albania nbsp 2Bosnia and Herzegovina nbsp 2Netherlands nbsp 2Poland nbsp 2Others 8References edit USIA Transcript DOD Briefing on Evacuations from Albania 97 03 14 www hri org Retrieved 2017 12 30 Roberts John 2009 Safeguarding the Nation The Story of the Modern Royal Navy 352pp Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84832 043 7 RP Online Tom Ruys 2010 Armed Attack and Article 51 of the UN Charter Evolutions in Customary Law and Practice Cambridge University Press pp 231 232 ISBN 9781139494830 Political Unrest in Albania PBS NewsHour Retrieved 30 December 2017 Dieter Fleck ed 2018 The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces Oxford University Press p 45 ISBN 9780198808404 Operation Libelle Tirana 97 Das erste Gefecht der Bundeswehr RP Online 14 March 2007 Laurin Carin 2005 Baltic Yearbook of International Law 2005 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers p 71 ISBN 9004147888 Evacuations from Albania proceed amid a hail of bullets CNN 14 March 1997 Retrieved 2017 12 30 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Operation Libelle amp oldid 1172149841, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
