Friday, July 1, 2022
  • About us
    • Write for us
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms of use
    • Privacy Policy
  • RSS Feeds
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
DefenceTalk
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports
No Result
View All Result
DefenceTalk
No Result
View All Result

Swiss army made covert mission in Libya: media

by Agence France-Presse
September 20, 2010
in Army News
2 min read
0
14
VIEWS

Geneva: A Swiss soldier entered Libya on a covert mission in 2009 to make plans to whisk across the border two Swiss citizens prevented from leaving the north African country, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Three such military plans were studied between November 2008 and May 2009, including one that may have involved the help of a Bedouin tribe, the Swiss weekly NZZ am Sonntag said, citing a confidential foreign ministry memo.

During planning for the third one, a member of a special forces reconnaissance unit, AAD-10, “entered Libyan soil” travelling “as a civilian, unarmed and with a valid visa,” it added.

That “exploratory” mission, which never went further, came three months after another plan was called off because of intelligence indicating that Libya had got wind of a possible bid to free the Swiss duo, according to the newspaper.

Libyan authorities stopped businessmen Rachid Hamdani and Max Goeldi leaving their territory in a tit-for-tat action after the brief arrest in Switzerland of one of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s sons in July 2008.

In September 2009, they were taken by Libyan officials from the Swiss embassy in Tripoli, where they were staying, to a secure location where the duo were held until November.

They were later returned to the embassy and Hamdani was allowed to leave Libya in February, while Goeldi returned to Switzerland in June after serving a jail sentence.

The standoff sparked diplomatic tensions between the two countries and was only resolved with mediation by several European Union countries.

It also caused a political storm in Switzerland over the government’s handling of the affair.

Neutral Switzerland’s army has a purely defensive mission, only hesitantly stepping up low key participation in international peacekeeping operations on foreign soil over the past decade.

Media reports of secret military planning in 2008 to bring out the two Swiss citizens had emerged in June, but it was the first time that a report indicated that it went to the point of reaching Libyan territory.

A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman could not immediately comment on the latest report.

Tags: Libyamissionspecial forcesswiss army
Previous Post

Lockheed Tests Second-Generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Capability

Next Post

Russia in 300-million-dollar missile deal with Syria: report

Related Posts

CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle: Innovating by Warfighters for Warfighters

Slovakia to buy 152 Swedish combat vehicles

June 30, 2022

NATO member Slovakia, which shares a border with Ukraine, said Tuesday it plans to buy 152 tracked combat vehicles from...

US, Morocco launch vast military exercise

US, Morocco launch vast military exercise

June 23, 2022

The United States and Morocco on Monday launched the vast annual "African Lion" military exercise, amid heightened tensions between the...

Next Post

Russia in 300-million-dollar missile deal with Syria: report

Latest Defense News

Joint military forces kick off Cope North 2020

Biden says US ‘should sell’ F-16 Fighter Jets to Turkey

June 30, 2022
China offers to mediate Horn of Africa disputes

NATO wary of Russian, Chinese ‘gains’ on southern flank

June 30, 2022
F-35A Lightning II Fighter Jet

Greece formalizes request for US-made F-35 fighter jets: PM

June 30, 2022
Franco-German treaty a step toward ‘European army’: Merkel

Relief and concern in Sweden after NATO deal with Turkey

June 30, 2022
Jordan to Buy Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

Norway to send rocket launchers to Ukraine

June 30, 2022

Britain boosts military aid to Ukraine

June 30, 2022

Defense Forum Discussions

  • Russia and the West
  • Indo Pacific strategy
  • New Zealand Army
  • ADF General discussion thread
  • RMAF Future; need opinions
  • Svenska Flygvapnet/Swedish Air Force
  • German Airbus H145M SAR Helicopter Winching at Koksijde
  • NZDF General discussion thread
  • US Navy News and updates
  • General Naval News
DefenceTalk

© 2003-2020 DefenceTalk.com

Navigate Site

  • Defence Forum
  • Military Photos
  • RSS Feeds
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports

© 2003-2020 DefenceTalk.com