30
OCT
2023
An incident from the 15th shows how quickly the Bundeswehr in Lebanon threatens to come under fire. October. It concerned the headquarters of the UN blue helmet operation UNIFIL in Naqura on the southern Lebanese coast. Since 2006, the Bundeswehr has also been involved in UNIFIL with the aim of preventing arms deliveries to Hezbollah and training the Lebanese Navy. German military personnel have been stationed in Naqura since the German Navy took over the leadership of UNIFIL's Maritime Task Force (MTF) in 2021. In Naqura, according to the Bundeswehr's command command, on the afternoon of the 15th October a rocket; no one was harmed.[ 1] According to a unanimous assessment, it was not a targeted attack, but a, of course dangerous, errant. It was initially said that the crew of the corvette Oldenburg was in the headquarters at the time of the attack and had to get to safety, the navy later announced that this was not the case; the corvette had not been in Naqura at the time of the attack. 2] Irrespective of this, the rocket impact has also proven the high danger potential for the German UNIFIL soldiers.
For the replacement of the corvette Oldenburg in the UNIFIL framework is on the 20th. October, the frigate Baden-Württemberg left for the eastern Mediterranean. The Oldenburg will then move to the Aegean and join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2); it will therefore remain relatively close to the war zone. 3] The frigate Baden-Württemberg, on the other hand, starts its first deployment at UNIFIL and at the same time the first of a ship of class F125; the four frigates F125 were put into service between 2019 and 2022 after years of disputes over sometimes serious technical problems [4]. Initial reports said that the frigate was initially sent to Limassol in Cyprus, where a logistical staff element of the German Navy is stationed. 5] From there, it should "monitor the eastern Mediterranean sea area by mid-January 2024" and "help with the training of the Lebanese navy," the navy informs.[ 6] According to this, around 140 soldiers are deployed on the ship; "to the regular crew of the frigate," it is said, "soldiers of the on-board operation company 1 of the naval battalion would be added". After the end of the UNIFIL operation, the frigate Baden-Württemberg is to be moved directly to the "Indo-Pacific Deployment 2024" (IPD24), i.e. to the Pacific. 7]
The task force supplier Frankfurt am Main is already stationed in relative proximity to the war zone. The ship was already moved to the Aegean Sea in July in order to participate in NATO refugee defense; warships from NATO countries observe the sea area there and pass on evidence of any refugee boats to the Greek and Turkish marines. Frankfurt am Main is said to have now arrived in the port of Limassol in Cyprus; according to reports, it may remain longer in the eastern Mediterranean in order to be available for the evacuation of German citizens from the war region if necessary. As naval inspector Jan Christian Kaack recently explained, it has, among other things, "a rescue center on board" that is "like a small district hospital." 8] Kaack pointed out that the Bundeswehr holds "further personnel with high operational readiness in the backhand" beyond the ship's crews; after all, one must "prepare for all eventualities". Kaack did not explain what these could be - especially in the event of a further escalation of war beyond the Gaza Strip.
According to reports, the Bundeswehr has now sent more than 1,000 soldiers to the region in total. An overwhelming majority of them are stationed in Cyprus; a planning and management staff for a possible evacuation mission has been set up there, it is said. 9] Among other things, there are also special forces of the German Navy (KSM) in Cyprus. According to observers, several military transporters of the type A400M [10] recently landed there; the fact that they took off from Cologne-Wahn Airport, among other things, has triggered suspicions that units of the Federal Police Force GSG9 could also be sent. This is also supported by the fact that in the Bundeswehr it was said that they also work together with "forces of other departments." 11] Members of the Special Forces Command (KSK) were reportedly transferred to Jordan. German tanker aircraft are already stationed at the Al Azrak air base there, which are used as part of the international anti-IS coalition ("Counter Daesh").
Possible evacuation operations are currently considered a priority deployment option. According to the Federal Foreign Office, there are still around 2,700 German citizens in Israel, who may have to be evacuated; in the Palestinian territories - the Gaza Strip and the West Bank - there are around 490, in Lebanon there are still about 1,100 Germans, it is said. 12] Cyprus is considered the "hub" for any evacuations; the Dutch armed forces have now also sent soldiers there.[ 13] Last but not least, the British armed forces have also intensified their activities on their Cypriot bases Akrotiri and Dhekelia; these have belonged to Great Britain as "overseas territories" since the end of British colonial rule, as well as the Falkland Islands or the Chago Islands in the Indian Ocean with the important US military base Diego Garcia. A400M aircraft of the Bundeswehr have also recently landed at the British military base Akrotiri. German military transporters also arrived in Tel Aviv as early as mid-October, where they obviously handed over military goods to Israeli places. They would have "brought with them," it is only said, "about which no public information was given." 14]
[1] Bundeswehr gets caught between the fronts in Lebanon. spiegel.de 15.10.2023. S. on this weapons for Israel.
[2] Daniel Heidmann: Were soldiers from MV in danger? Marine contradicts reports about corvette "Oldenburg". ostsee-zeitung.de 20.10.2023.
[3] Frigate Baden-Württemberg moves to Lebanon. esut.de 20.10.2023.
[4] See from the end of the "sea blindness".
[5] UNIFIL: Germany takes over the Maritime Task Force. bundeswehr.de 15.01.2021.
[6] First deployment: "Baden-Württemberg" moved to the Mediterranean. bundeswehr.de 20.10.2023.
[7] Fregate Baden-Württemberg moves towards Lebanon. esut.de 20.10.2023.
[8] Frank Specht, Martin Murphy: Marine Inspector Kaack: "We are ready to deliver ammunition to Israel". handelsblatt.com 23.10.2023.
[9] More than 1000 Bundeswehr soldiers relocated to the Middle East. n-tv.de 28.10.2023.
[10] Thomas Wiegold: Possible evacuation mission in the Middle East: Bundeswehr relocates soldiers (m. Addendum). augengeradeaus.net 21.10.2023.
[11] Specialized forces ready. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 30.10.2023.
[12] More than 1000 Bundeswehr soldiers moved to the Middle East. n-tv.de 28.10.2023.
[13] Cyprus is preparing for possible evacuations from the Middle East. dbwv.de 26.10.2023.
[14] Specialized forces ready. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 30.10.2023.