Europe

Home page

Europe

Netherlands Makes Diplomatic Push to Free Troops in Libya

05 March 2011 02:11 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government is doing everything it can to secure the release of three crew members of a Dutch Navy helicopter captured in Libya after a failed evacuation attempt, APA reports quoting â€œBloomberg Business Weekâ€.
â€œWe are doing our utmost to get them back, using any diplomatic angle we can,â€ Rutte, who authorized the evacuation mission, told reporters in The Hague today. â€œAnything further I say about this may lead to possible difficulty during the process to repatriate them.â€
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi captured three crew members of the Lynx helicopter as they tried to evacuate a Dutch citizen and another European near the central coastal city of Sirte. The two evacuees were brought to the Dutch embassy in Tripoli and have left the country, where pro- Qaddafi forces are seeking to put down a popular revolt.
Dutch broadcaster NOS yesterday showed a Libyan state television video of the Navy helicopter on a beach and the crew members, one of whom is identifiable as a woman. The Dutch government has given confidential information about the matter to party leaders in parliament, news agency ANP said.
The government said itâ€™s in â€œintensive diplomatic talksâ€ with Libya about releasing the helicopter crew, who flew to the countryâ€™s coast on Feb. 27 from Dutch navy ship HNLMS Tromp. The identity of the crew members hasnâ€™t been released.