Canada has sent another 200 military personnel to join the NATO-led mission in Libya, a senior officer said Wednesday.
So far, up to 570 members of the Canadian Forces have been sent to the Mediterranean, including pilots, marines and a small number of special forces soldiers headquartered in Malta, to enforce the UN Security Council's no-fly zone over Libya, Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette told reporters.
Code-named by Canada as Operation MOBILE, the mission also involves six CF-18s at a base in Trapani, Italy, with two CC-150 refueling tankers as well as approximately 140 supporting personnel.
Canada also deployed its frigate HMCS Charlottetown, with 240 crew equipped with a Sea King helicopter, in the waters off Libya, one C-17 Globemaster strategic transport aircraft and two C-130J Hercules tactical transport aircraft as well as a military reconnaissance team of 13 soldiers in Malta.
Canadian fighter jets have attacked targets in Libya in the first actual combat mission since 1999, when they joined the NATO bombardment of the former Yugoslavia to stop ethnic violence against Kosovo Albanians.
The UN Security Council on March 17 adopted a resolution to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and called for "all necessary measures," excluding troops on the ground, to protect civilians under threat of attack in the North African country.
However, the allies led by the United States and NATO have so far attacked military as well as some civilian targets in Libya to crack down on the Libyan government led by Muammar Gaddafi.