On 19 March 2011, a NATO-led coalition began a military intervention into the ongoing Libyan Civil War to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (UNSCR 1973). The UN Security Council passed the resolution with ten votes in favour and five abstentions, with the stated intent to have "an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute 'crimes against humanity' ... [imposing] a ban on all flights in the country's airspace – a no-fly zone – and tightened sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi's government and its supporters."
The initial coalition members of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, UK and US expanded to nineteen states, with later members mostly enforcing the no-fly zone and naval blockade or providing military logistical assistance. The effort was initially led by France and the United Kingdom, with command shared with the United States. Italy only joined the coalition on the condition that NATO took on overall leadership of the mission instead of individual countries. NATO took control of the arms embargo on 23 March, named Operation Unified Protector. An attempt to unify the military command of the air campaign first failed over objections by the French, German, and Turkish governments. On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone, while command of targeting ground units remained with individual coalition forces. The handover occurred on 31 March 2011.
On the intervention's first day on 19 March, American and British naval forces fired over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and imposed a naval blockade. The French Air Force, British Royal Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force also undertook sorties across Libya. The intervention did not employ foreign ground troops, with the exception of special forces, which were not covered by the UN resolution. NATO flew 26,500 sorties over eight months, including 7,000 bombing sorties targeting Gaddafi's forces.
The Libyan government's response to the campaign was ineffectual, with Gaddafi's forces failing to shoot down any NATO aircraft, despite the country possessing extensive anti-aircraft systems. The conflict ended in late October following the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and the overthrow of his government. Libya's new government requested that NATO's mission be extended to the end of 2011, however the Security Council unanimously voted to end NATO's mandate on 31 October. NATO's rationale for the intervention faced criticism, notably in a report released by the British parliament in 2016, which concluded that the UK government "failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated and that the rebels included a significant Islamist element."
The official names for the interventions by the coalition members were Opération Harmattan by France; Operation Ellamy by the United Kingdom; Operation Mobile for the Canadian participation and Operation Odyssey Dawn for the United States. The operation has also been referred to as the Third Barbary War, in reference to two 19th-century American expeditions in the area.
On 19 March 2011, a NATO-led coalition began a military intervention into the ongoing Libyan Civil War to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (UNSCR 1973). The UN Security Council passed the resolution with ten votes in favour and five abstentions, with the stated intent to have "an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute 'crimes against humanity' ... [imposing] a ban on all flights in the country's airspace – a no-fly zone – and tightened sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi's government and its supporters."
The initial coalition members of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, UK and US expanded to nineteen states, with later members mostly enforcing the no-fly zone and naval blockade or providing military logistical assistance. The effort was initially led by France and the United Kingdom, with command shared with the United States. Italy only joined the coalition on the condition that NATO took on overall leadership of the mission instead of individual countries. NATO took control of the arms embargo on 23 March, named Operation Unified Protector. An attempt to unify the military command of the air campaign first failed over objections by the French, German, and Turkish governments. On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone, while command of targeting ground units remained with individual coalition forces. The handover occurred on 31 March 2011.
On the intervention's first day on 19 March, American and British naval forces fired over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and imposed a naval blockade. The French Air Force, British Royal Air Force, and Royal Canadian Air Force also undertook sorties across Libya. The intervention did not employ foreign ground troops, with the exception of special forces, which were not covered by the UN resolution. NATO flew 26,500 sorties over eight months, including 7,000 bombing sorties targeting Gaddafi's forces.
The Libyan government's response to the campaign was ineffectual, with Gaddafi's forces failing to shoot down any NATO aircraft, despite the country possessing extensive anti-aircraft systems. The conflict ended in late October following the killing of Muammar Gaddafi and the overthrow of his government. Libya's new government requested that NATO's mission be extended to the end of 2011, however the Security Council unanimously voted to end NATO's mandate on 31 October. NATO's rationale for the intervention faced criticism, notably in a report released by the British parliament in 2016, which concluded that the UK government "failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated and that the rebels included a significant Islamist element."
The official names for the interventions by the coalition members were Opération Harmattan by France; Operation Ellamy by the United Kingdom; Operation Mobile for the Canadian participation and Operation Odyssey Dawn for the United States. The operation has also been referred to as the Third Barbary War, in reference to two 19th-century American expeditions in the area.
Proposal for the no-fly zone
Both Libyan officials and international states and organizations called for a no-fly zone over Libya in light of allegations that Gaddafi's military had conducted airstrikes against Libyan rebels in the Libyan Civil War.
Timeline
21 February 2011: Libyan deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ibrahim Dabbashi called "on the UN to impose a no-fly zone on all of Tripoli to cut off all supplies of arms and mercenaries to the regime."
23 February 2011: French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for the European Union (EU) to pass sanctions against Gaddafi (freezing Gaddafi's family funds abroad) and demand he stops attacks against civilians.
25 February 2011: Sarkozy said Gaddafi "must go".
26 February 2011: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 was passed unanimously, referring the Libyan government to the International Criminal Court for gross human rights violations. It imposed an arms embargo on the country and a travel ban and assets freeze on Gaddafi's family and certain Government officials.
28 February 2011: British Prime Minister David Cameron proposed the idea of a no-fly zone to prevent Gaddafi from "airlifting mercenaries" and "using his military aeroplanes and armoured helicopters against civilians".
1 March 2011: The US Senate unanimously passed non-binding Senate resolution S.RES.85 urging the United Nations Security Council to impose a Libyan no-fly zone and encouraging Gaddafi to step down. The US had naval forces positioned off the coast of Libya, as well as forces already in the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
2 March 2011: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper authorized the deployment of the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown to the Mediterranean, off the coast of Libya. Canadian National Defence Minister Peter MacKay stated that "[w]e are there for all inevitabilities. And NATO is looking at this as well ... This is taken as a precautionary and staged measure."
7 March 2011: US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder announced that NATO decided to step up surveillance missions of E-3 AWACS aircraft to twenty-four hours a day. On the same day, it was reported that an anonymous UN diplomat confirmed to Agence France Presse that France and Britain were drawing up a resolution on the no-fly zone that would be considered by the UN Security Council during the same week. The Gulf Cooperation Council also on that day called upon the UN Security Council to "take all necessary measures to protect civilians, including enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya."
9 March 2011: The head of the Libyan National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, "pleaded for the international community to move quickly to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, declaring that any delay would result in more casualties." Three days later, he stated that if pro-Gaddafi forces reached Benghazi, then they would kill "half a million" people. He stated, "If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Gaddafi's regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya."
10 March 2011: France recognized the Libyan NTC as the legitimate government of Libya soon after Nicolas Sarkozy met with them in Paris. This meeting was arranged by Bernard-Henri Lévy.
11 March 2011: Cameron joined forces with Sarkozy after Sarkozy demanded immediate action from international community for a no-fly zone against air attacks by Gaddafi.
12 March 2011: The Arab League "called on the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya in a bid to protect civilians from air attack." The Arab League's request was announced by Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, who stated that all member states present at the meeting agreed with the proposal. On 12 March, thousands of Libyan women marched in the streets of the rebel-held town of Benghazi, calling for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya.
14 March 2011: In Paris at the Élysée Palace, before the summit with the G8 Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sarkozy, who is also the president of the G8, along with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and pressed her to push for intervention in Libya.
15 March 2011: A resolution for a no-fly zone was proposed by Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's Ambassador to the UN. The resolution was immediately backed by France and the United Kingdom.
17 March 2011: The UN Security Council, acting under the authority of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, approved a no-fly zone by a vote of ten in favour, zero against, and five abstentions, via UNSCR 1973. The five abstentions were: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Germany. Less than twenty-four hours later, Libya announced that it would halt all military operations in response to the UN Security Council resolution.
18 March 2011: The Libyan foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, said that he had declared a ceasefire, attributing the UN resolution. However, artillery shelling on Misrata and Ajdabiya continued, and government soldiers continued approaching Benghazi. Government troops and tanks entered the city on 19 March. Artillery and mortars were also fired into the city.
18 March 2011: U.S. President Barack Obama orders military air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya in his address to the nation from the White House. US President Obama later held a meeting with eighteen senior lawmakers at the White House on the afternoon of 18 March
19 March 2011: French forces began the military intervention in Libya, later joined by coalition forces with strikes against armoured units south of Benghazi and attacks on Libyan air-defense systems, as UN Security Council Resolution 1973 called for using "all necessary means" to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas from attack, imposed a no-fly zone, and called for an immediate and enduring cease-fire, while also strengthening travel bans on members of the regime, arms embargoes, and asset freezes.
21 March 2011: Obama sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate claiming the actions were justified under the War Powers Resolution.
24 March 2011: In telephone negotiations, French foreign minister Alain Juppé agreed to let NATO take over all military operations on 29 March at the latest, allowing Turkey to veto strikes on Gaddafi's ground forces from that point forward. Later reports stated that NATO would take over enforcement of the no-fly zone and the arms embargo, but discussions were still underway about whether NATO would take over the protection of civilians mission. Turkey reportedly wanted the power to veto airstrikes, while France wanted to prevent Turkey from having such a veto.
25 March 2011: NATO Allied Joint Force Command in Naples took command of the no-fly zone over Libya and combined it with the ongoing arms embargo operation under the name Operation Unified Protector.
26 March 2011: Obama addressed the nation from the White House, providing an update on the current state of the military intervention in Libya.
28 March 2011: Obama addressed the American people on the rationale for U.S. military intervention with NATO forces in Libya at the National Defense University.
20 October 2011: When Hillary Clinton learned of the death of Muammar Gaddafi she was reported to have said: "We came, we saw, he died" in paraphrasing the famous quote of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar veni, vidi, vici.
Enforcement
Initial NATO planning for a possible no-fly zone took place in late February and early March, especially by NATO members France and the United Kingdom. France and the UK were early supporters of a no-fly zone and had sufficient airpower to impose a no-fly zone over the rebel-held areas, although they might need additional assistance for a more extensive exclusion zone.
The US had the air assets necessary to enforce a no-fly zone, but was cautious about supporting such an action prior to obtaining a legal basis for violating Libya's sovereignty. Furthermore, due to the sensitive nature of military action by the US against an Arab nation, the US sought Arab participation in the enforcement of a no-fly zone.
At a congressional hearing, United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates explained that "a no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defences ... and then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down. But that's the way it starts."
On 19 March, the deployment of French fighter jets over Libya began, and other states began their individual operations. Phase One started the same day with the involvement of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Canada.
On 24 March, NATO ambassadors agreed that NATO would take command of the no-fly zone enforcement, while other military operations remained the responsibility of the group of states previously involved, with NATO expected to take control as early as 26 March. The decision was made after meetings of NATO members to resolve disagreements over whether military operations in Libya should include attacks on ground forces. The decision created a two-level power structure overseeing military operations. In charge politically was a committee, led by NATO, that included all states participating in enforcing the no-fly zone, while NATO alone was responsible for military action. Royal Canadian Air Force Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard was appointed to command the NATO military mission.
After the death of Muammar Gaddafi on 20 October 2011, it was announced that the NATO mission would end on 31 October.
Operation names
NATO: Operation Unified Protector
Before NATO took full command of operations at 06:00 GMT on 31 March 2011, the military intervention in the form of a no-fly zone and the naval blockade was split between different national operations:
France: Opération Harmattan
United Kingdom: Operation Ellamy
Canada: Operation Mobile
United States: Operation Odyssey Dawn – Belgium, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Spain, Greece and the United Arab Emirates placed their national contributions under U.S. command
Forces committed
These are the forces committed in alphabetical order:
Belgium: Six F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets of the Belgian Air Component, were already stationed at Araxos, Greece for an exercise, and flew their first mission in the afternoon of 21 March. They monitored the no-fly zone throughout the operation and have successfully attacked ground targets multiple times since 27 March, all of them without collateral damage. The Belgian Naval Component minehunter Narcis was part of NATO's SNMCMG1 at the start of the operation and assisted in NATO's naval blockade from 23 March. The ship was later replaced by the minehunter Lobelia in August.
Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Navy Wielingen-class frigate Drazki participated in the naval blockade, along with a number of "special naval forces", two medical teams and other humanitarian help. The frigate left port on 27 April and arrived off the coast of Libya on 2 May. It patrolled for one month before returning to Bulgaria, with a supply stop at the Greek port of Souda.
Canada: The Royal Canadian Air Force deployed seven (six front line, one reserve) CF-18 fighter jets, two CC-150 Polaris refueling airplanes, two CC-177 Globemaster III heavy transports, two CC-130J Super Hercules tactical transports, and two CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. The Royal Canadian Navy deployed the Halifax-class frigates HMCS Charlottetown and HMCS Vancouver. A total of 440 Canadian Forces personnel participated in Operation Mobile. There were reports that special operations were being conducted by Joint Task Force 2 in association with Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) as part of Canada's contribution.