Britain launches ground Libya invasion

Former members of Britain's special forces, better known as SAS, and other western employees of private security companies are helping NATO in its reconnaissance operations in and around the Libyan city of Misrata, the daily The Guardian reported.

A senior British military source said the elite unit of former SAS troops, which is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), represents Britain; this comes as Prime Minister David Cameron insists that no British boots are on the ground in Libya.

According to The Guardian, these former SAS troops are operating in Libya in close collaboration with Britain, France and other NATO countries, and have been supplied with the most modern communication equipments to pass details of the locations and movements of Colonel Gaddafi's forces to the Naples headquarters of NATO in Italy.

The NATO command then verifies the targets by spy planes and US Predator drones and launches aerial attacks on them, the report said.

This is while that NATO warplanes and fighter jets have pounded the revolutionary forces' positions for several times so far and practically hampered their advance towards the capital Tripoli.

There have also been several reports of civilian deaths caused by NATO attacks, which have been confirmed by the revolutionaries.

Footage of 11 ex-SAS and Parachute Regiment troops in Libya was aired by Arab TV station al-Jazeera in Dafniya, which is the western-most point of the revolutionary lines west of Misrata.

Highly trained with front line experience round the world, they are the UK's unofficial boots on the ground, which has been in the country for the past four weeks.

Their presence is an incredibly sensitive subject as the UN Security Council resolution in March authorising the use of force against Gaddafi specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any Libyan territory.”

“These men definitely did not want to be seen by prying eyes as it could compromise their mission, which is very unofficial,” said the senior military source.

“But the fact is that they are representing Britain - whether it has been denied or not - and the British government has given the green light for this, via a circuitous route,” the source added.

“They are Brits and they are being paid for indirectly by the British taxpayer to a private company, whether the money was paid via a third or even fourth party,” said the source.

The ex-SAS troops - who are claimed to earn as much as £10,000 a month as third party “freelances” - were seen in action in Iraq, Afghanistan, Columbia and Northern Ireland. Their wages have been paid to the private firm indirectly from a British government fund.

The NATO military alliance is working on a plan to prolong the war in Libya in its bid to broaden its military occupation of the country, according to the report.

This is while the MoD has stressed that there are no combat troops on the ground in Libya, saying that the only MoD personnel in the country includes 10 military advisors and mentors in Benghazi.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, described the advisers as "experienced military officers", and said they would advise the revolutionaries on intelligence gathering, logistics and communications.

These private soldiers are reported to be paid by Arab countries, notably Qatar, the report said.

The UN Security Council resolution No. 1973 has only authorised the western military alliance to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to protect its civilians from being slaughtered at the hands of the country's long-time dictator, stressing that no foreign boots should touch the Libyan soil.

But, it seems that the western alliance including Britain is resorting to private security firms in an attempt to get rid of the restrictions implied by the Security Council resolution.

The North African country is practically divided into two separate entities after western counties invaded it more than two months ago, something which had happened in Libya when it was a UK colony.

MOL/PKH/HE