Six Danish F—16 fighter jets landed on Saturday at the U.S. air base in Sigonella, Sicily, and a half—dozen U.S. aircraft arrived elsewhere as the military buildup mounted in Italy for possible action against Libya.
Danish air force spokesman Lars Skjoldan said the six F—16s would be ready for operation in Libya by Sunday.
Italy has offered the use of seven military bases to enforce the U.N.—authorized no—fly zone over Libya and protect Libyan civilians from Moammar Qadhafi’s troops.
Details about possible military action against Col. Qadhafi were being discussed by 22 world leaders gathered at an emergency summit in Paris, as Libyan forces attacked rebel—held Benghazi, the heart of the uprising, with troops, tanks and warplanes.
Sigonella’s size and close proximity to Libya makes it a key staging point for any possible international strikes, but other bases were being readied as well, including the U.S. air base at Aviano in northern Italy.
Witnesses reported Saturday that five new American F—18s, two C—17s and a C—130 cargo plane landed Saturday at the base, which is home to the 31st Fighter Wing.
Spokesmen at both Aviano and Sigonella, a naval air station which primarily provides logistical support for the U.S. 6th Fleet and NATO forces, didn’t immediately return calls.
Italy’s defence minister Ignazio La Russa said on Saturday that Italy wasn’t just “renting out” its bases for others to use but was prepared to offer “moderate but determined” military support as well.
“We’re doing it in the right way, not just giving the keys of our house to friends who will use them correctly, but also participating directly in an operation that surely we never would have wanted but which is necessary for the region’s stability and safety of the Libyan people,” he said.
Italy, Libya’s former colonial ruler, has extensive oil and gas interests in the country.
In addition to the aircraft already in Italy, Norway said it was prepared to send six F—16 fighter jets to enforce the no—fly zone, but that they wouldn’t be operational for five to six days.
One of the two British bases in Cyprus, meanwhile, will be supporting AWACS surveillance aircraft assigned to monitor the no—fly zone over Libya, said spokesman Kristian Gray.
The aircraft are already at the Royal Air Force’s Akrotiri base on the south coast of the island, he told The Associated Press on Saturday. Also deployed to the base is a team of British personnel to coordinate movement of British aircraft.
