USS Ponce: Navy Times says, “Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the Kearsarge and the amphibious transport dock Ponce to move from the U.S. Central Command region into the Mediterranean Sea to provide the capability for evacuation or humanitarian aid.”
Two US warships were heading towards Libya on Wednesday as the West started flexing its military muscle and rebels fighting Moamer Kadhafi's regime began organising the trappings of parallel government.
The UN refugee agency said the situation on the Libya-Tunisia border was reaching crisis point as desperate expatriate workers pour across, fearful of a bloody rearguard action by diehard regime elements.
More than 100,000 people have already left Libya to escape a vicious crackdown by Kadhafi loyalists which has left at least 1,000 dead, according to conservative UN estimates.
The USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce carrying marines and equipment entered the Suez Canal early Wednesday, an Egyptian canal authority official said. The warships are expected to enter the Mediterranean by evening.
The Kearsarge amphibious ready group, with about 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities, could support humanitarian efforts as well as military operations.
"We're certainly moving assets to be closer (to Libya)," a US defence official told AFP in Washington on Tuesday. "A ship like the Kearsarge is capable of many types of missions."
Western powers are arguing over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya to support rebels fighting Kadhafi's regime. Some opposition figures in Libya have begun calling for air strikes.
Source: http://www.autoskt.com
Two US warships were heading towards Libya on Wednesday as the West started flexing its military muscle and rebels fighting Moamer Kadhafi's regime began organising the trappings of parallel government.The UN refugee agency said the situation on the Libya-Tunisia border was reaching crisis point as desperate expatriate workers pour across, fearful of a bloody rearguard action by diehard regime elements.
More than 100,000 people have already left Libya to escape a vicious crackdown by Kadhafi loyalists which has left at least 1,000 dead, according to conservative UN estimates.
The USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce carrying marines and equipment entered the Suez Canal early Wednesday, an Egyptian canal authority official said. The warships are expected to enter the Mediterranean by evening.
The Kearsarge amphibious ready group, with about 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities, could support humanitarian efforts as well as military operations.
"We're certainly moving assets to be closer (to Libya)," a US defence official told AFP in Washington on Tuesday. "A ship like the Kearsarge is capable of many types of missions."
Western powers are arguing over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya to support rebels fighting Kadhafi's regime. Some opposition figures in Libya have begun calling for air strikes.
Source: http://www.autoskt.com
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