Greek SOF Rescues Civilians From Tripoli, Libya

On August 1st, the Greek Ministry of National Defense announced the successful completion of an operation to evacuate Greek and foreign citizens from the harbor of Tripoli, Libya early that morning. The operation, codenamed Aginor, was executed by the frigate “Salamis,” with the support of the organic helicopter S-70B and an Underwater Demolitions Command team.

The frigate remained outside the Tripoli port limits while the Underwater Demolitions Command team entered the port to carry out reconnaissance and to establish contact with the local authorities. Later on, the civilians were transported by service boats of the Libyan port authorities without undergoing any threat.

A total of 186 civilians boarded the frigate, of which 77 from Greece (including the Greek Embassy personnel), 12 from Cyprus, 78 from China, 10 from Great Britain, 7 from Belgium, 1 from Russia and 1 from Albania. The frigate reached the Piraeus port on the following day.

The minister of National Defense expressed his gratitude to the Armed Forces for successfully completing the operation which emphasized the stabilizing role of Greece and the good services it offered to friendly nations that, for objective reasons, could not evacuate their citizens.

The Greek operations was largely reported by the Chinese media that offered complimentary remarks of Greece and its Armed Forces.

The author wishes to thank Savvas Vlassis for providing this article, which is published here with his consent.