Malta’s involvement in Libyan Mirage escape shrouded in mystery

Malta grabbed international headlines for its part in evacuating thousands of persons from Libya, however its role in the military operations that complemented the Libyan rebel uprising remains ambiguous.

The arrival of seven unknown persons aboard two French-owned helicopters in Malta, prior to the arrival of the defecting Libyan Mirage jets at the beginning of the Libyan conflict, remains a mystery.

The two helicopters arrived together with the two Libyan air force fighter jets. Presumably, the seven persons were oil workers running from the troubled region. However, the anonymous passengers landed in Malta under a cloud of mystery. Only one passenger held a passport aboard the helicopters owned by Heli-Union - a French company which offers air transport services by helicopter on behalf of oil and gas companies.

Maltese authorities presumably interrogated the passengers, however their identities and their activity before and after leaving Benghazi remain unknown.

The unknown helicopter passengers

The Times had reported that on the day the two fighter jets landed, two French-registered Super Puma civilian helicopters landed at "about the same time", carrying seven French passengers who claimed to be oil workers.

Local and international press reported that police questioned seven passengers who landed in Malta from Libya on board two helicopters. Sources close to the Maltese government said the helicopters had left Libya without authorisation by the Libyan aviation authorities, and that only one of the seven French passengers carried a passport.

These persons claimed to be oil workers, fleeing Libya a few days after Benghazi had fallen. On 15 February, a few hundred persons began demonstrating in front of the police headquarters in Benghazi following the arrest of human-rights activist Fathi Terbil. On 17 February the anticipated Day of Wrath hit the streets of Tripoli and cities around the vast Maghreb country. In the following days, Benghazi fell and the revolution spread.

Mass evacuations of foreign nationals from Libya to Malta and elsewhere started a few days later, climaxing with the evacuation of around 300 persons in a high-speed ferry chartered by the United States government on 25 February.

On the two French owned Super Puma helicopters only one passenger out of seven carried identification documents, suggesting they fled the country in a haste and illegally. Their identity and their activity in Benghazi remains a mystery.
The mystery shrouding the identities and activities of these seven persons is fuelling speculation that the two jet fighters were used as an escort to the Super Pumas. The jets and helicopters might have taken off from Benghazi, however there is no confirmation of the jets' departure base.
MaltaToday's questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the identity and activities of the unknown French helicopter passengers remained unanswered. All passengers were reportedly questioned by local authorities and it is believed government identified the passengers, which is the norm when processing all persons entering the country, legally or illegally.

Every war and conflict is dirty and churns mysteries and conspiracy theories. The Libyan conflict is no different, and many questions regarding France's contribution remain unanswered. Gaddafi's inglorious end was welcomed by many, in Libya and abroad. However with his death many doubts and quandaries emerged.   

The jet fighters

The arrival of two Libyan jet fighters in February last year caused a stir in Malta and around the world. The two pilots claimed they fled Libya after refusing to carry out orders to air-strike civilians.

On 21 February, less than a week after protests in Libya began, two Libyan Mirage fighter jets landed at the Malta International Airport. Two senior pilots flew their Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jets to Malta and requested political asylum.

The pilots' alleged act of mutiny reverberated around the world.

Two days later, The Tripoli Post carried a report entitled 'Libyan Military Pilots Defect to Malta'. The Tripoli Post said the two pilots, both colonels, were questioned by the Maltese police, and declared they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Benghazi. The two pilots were reported to have told Maltese authorities that they had been asked to bomb their own people and refused to do so. Reuters news agency, citing Maltese government officials, reported that the pilots claimed to have been "ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya's second largest city of Benghazi".

The version of events told by the two pilots, confirmed by both, was taken as simple and solid fact by the international press and coincided with the West's fears about Gaddafi. From the evidence provided, the pilots acted in a tandem and both trusted each other in their daring act of mutiny. 

The two colonels claimed that they escaped after refusing to carry out orders to bomb civilians echoed accusations that Gaddafi was prepared to air-bomb his own people. Evidence of such attacks was scarce however the no-fly zone enforced by NATO and the subsequent UN resolution to allow airstrikes were motivated by such fears. Calls for a no-fly zone to protect civilians from these air attacks began the next day, on 22 February. 

This could signify that the fighter jets' defection might have come about due to a variety of motives. Apart from the apparent defection, the Mirages might have been used to rally support for the establishment of a no-fly zone by NATO. Another motivation could have been the protection of the unknown passengers on the two French helicopters.

The French connection

A few weeks later, reports emerged in European media alleging that the French secret service (DGSE) was involved in destabilising Gaddafi's regime. France's involvement came under attack not only from Russia and other countries who kept out of the conflict, but also from allies. Italy accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy of piloting the Libyan conflict. However, these accusations could have been borne out of Italian frustration and jealousy at France's, and to a certain extent Britain's, lead in the conflict.

Allegations of French intelligence involvement emerged in a 23 March report by journalist Franco Bechis in right-wing Italian daily Libero. Bechis based his allegations on the peculiar case of Nuri Mesmari, Gaddafi's former chief of protocol, who fled Libya and found refuge in Paris in October 2010. Purportedly, Mesmari put French officials in contact with military officers and activists in Benghazi plotting against the regime.

According to Bechis, a Libyan Air Force colonel in Benghazi named Gehani was contacted by the French secret service. This happened in November 2010. Gehani was pinpointed by Mesmari as a trusted army officer who is ready to collaborate with France to topple the former Libyan regime. In January 2011, Gehani was arrested by Gaddafi's regime and accused of treason.

Secret operations in Malta

On 20 March, the Libyan embassy in Malta had dismissed speculation from Libyan sources of newspaper It-Torca that Gaddafi's secret service base was still operating in Malta.

It is a known fact that several Libyan Arab Airlines employees stationed in Malta over the 1980s and 1990s were members of the Libyan Jamahariya Security Organisation keeping a close eye on their nationals living and travelling to Malta.

According to It-Torca, Libyan representatives of a company based in Malta had intensified measures to aid Libyan leader Gaddafi in his fight, and to find out whether there were any Libyans in Malta who could have contributed to the Libyans' rebellion.

In August, MaltaToday revealed that Malta played a crucial role in the planning and logistical strategy that allowed Libyan freedom fighters to launch their assault on the capital, Tripoli.

A number of Libyans aided by NATO officers led 'Operation Mermaid Dawn'. The operation was entrusted with the logistical preparations for the landing by sea of hundreds of Misurata rebels on the coast of Tripoli. Dinghies, radios and other supplies were shipped from Malta and secretly distributed to the coordinators on the ground in preparation for the Tripoli landing. Three plainclothes logistical officers from NATO worked closely with the Malta-based dissidents, providing advice and communication coordination with the operation command centre in Misurata.

Four command centres spread between Malta, Benghazi, Misurata and Zawiyah  coordinated the blitzkrieg that drove thousands of rebels straight into the heart of Tripoli. Reportedly special forces from Britain, France and Qatar intensively trained hundreds of fighters in the fields around Misurata.

This is not the first time Malta was implied in foreign secret service activities. In November 2010, the Maltese authorities started investigating court evidence given by former French minister Charles Millon, who claimed Malta was one of the countries where illegal funds were deposited. Millon claimed the funds derived from kickbacks related to the sale of weapons to Pakistan by the French secret service in 1994. The funds were allegedly used to finance the electoral campaign of former Prime Minister Edouard Balladour .

Malta to return fighter jets

Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg told a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that the Maltese government will soon be returning back to Libya the two Mirage jets fighters. Borg did not say when the jets will be returned.

Informed sources told MaltaToday the two jets will be returned to Libya imminently and will be flown back by the same two pilots who defected in February. The pilots will be accompanied by French Air Force specialists who will carry out necessary technical checks. Before flying to Libya the jets might embark on test flights over Malta. The official handover of the fighter jets to Libya is expected to take place during a pompous ceremony to be held by government.