Operation Mobile

Operation Mobile
Part of 2011 military intervention in Libya

Two CF-18s refuelling over Libya, 2011
Date19 March – 1 November 2011
Location
Libya
Result

Decisive Canadian victory

Belligerents
 Canada  Libya
Commanders and leaders
Stephen Harper
Peter MacKay
Charles Bouchard
Walter Natynczyk
André Deschamps		 Muammar Gaddafi †
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Abu-Bakr Jabr †
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Khamis Gaddafi †
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Ali Sharif al-Rifi
Units involved
 Royal Canadian Air Force
 Royal Canadian Navy		  Libya Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Strength
See deployed forces. 655 personnel at its peak.[2] Unknown
Casualties and losses
None Unknown

Operation Mobile (French: Opération Mobile) was the name given to Canadian Forces activities in the 2011 military intervention in Libya.[3] The United States' counterpart to this was Operation Odyssey Dawn, the French counterpart was Opération Harmattan and the British counterpart was Operation Ellamy. The no-fly zone was proposed during the Libyan Civil War to prevent government forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from carrying out air attacks on anti-Gaddafi forces and civilians. The demonstrations in Libya were part of the larger Arab Spring movement that began in the country of Tunisia on 18 December 2010. When demonstrations began in Libya, the government of Muammar Gaddafi responded with systematic attacks by air and ground forces, and repression of the protesters. In a speech, Gaddafi promised to chase down the protesters and cleanse the country "house by house". Several countries prepared to take immediate military action at a conference in Paris on 19 March.[4]

The no-fly zone was enforced by NATO's Operation Unified Protector.[5] NATO took sole command of all operations in Libya from 06:00 GMT on 31 March, which effectively ended the U.S. Operation Odyssey Dawn, as all U.S. operations were absorbed into NATO's Unified Protector.[6] The Canadian contribution continued to fall under Operation Mobile, which ceased activities on 1 November 2011.[7]

  1. ^ Cohen, Tom (20 March 2011). "Mullen: No-fly zone effectively in place in Libya". CNN. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Operation MOBILE". 22 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Operation MOBILE". DND, 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  4. ^ Judd, Terri (19 March 2011). "Operation Ellamy: Designed to strike from air and sea". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  5. ^ "NATO No-Fly Zone over Libya Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR" (PDF). NATO. 25 March 2011.
  6. ^ "NATO Press Briefing". NATO. 31 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Operation MOBILE: National Defence and Canadian Forces Response to the Situation in Libya". National Defense and the Canadian Forces. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.