Litouwse militairen formeel ingezet bij EU-operatie voor Somalische kust (en)

On 18 July Lithuanian military were formally deployed to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia - Operation ATALANTA, counter-piracy and armed robbery at sea efforts off the coast of Somalia, at a ceremony held in the garden of Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas. Lithuania’s military contribution to ATALANTA is the largest input of Lithuania to EU operations so far and the first naval operation that Lithuanian military will be part of.

„I am happy that your contribution will strengthen a very important international operation tailored to ensure a safe delivery of food to Somalia and other Africa countries. In this mission you will not only represent the Lithuanian Armed Forces but also Lithuania as a state, a member of the European community that currently hosts the Presidency of the Council of the European Union,” Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas addressing the soldiers at the deployment ceremony.

“This operation is a new challenge to you where you will turn into marines from regular infantry and your tasks will exceed your usual assignments. But the experience and lessons learned you will bring form the mission will be for the benefit of training Lithuania’s military personnel in the future,” Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius, the Lithuanan Chief of Defence, said wishing a successful mission for the deployed servicemembers.

Captain Aivaras Pliatkus, The commander of the deployed contingent said he was convinced of the expertise and motivation of his personnel as well as of their readiness to counter possible challenges despite of the fact that there were new and unfamiliar tasks ahead of them.

In total, Lithuania’s military contribution to the EU-led counter-piracy operation numbers up to 20, the major part of which forms the Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) made up of 16 troops of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion. Two servicemembers who will be in charge of ensuring logistic support have already been deployed on the ground in Djibouti. The Lithuanian contingent contributed to Operation ATALANTA also includes a Lithuanian officer who has been posted to a command ship headed by the Netherlands in mid-July this year and a staff officer of the Lithuanian Navy commissioned to the EU NAVFOR Operational Headquarters in Northwood (UK).

The period of the Lithuanian AVPD’s duty off the Somali coast will end this December. Till then, the unit will be employing their assets and equipment for protecting a World Food Program (WFP) chartered vessel transporting food from Kenya to Somalia from acts of piracy. Lithuanians will take over the task from a Finnish AVPD currently in charge of protecting the ship.

Lithuania first deployed its capabilities to Operation ATALANTA early in 2011 by commissioning a staff officer of the Lithuanian Navy to EU NAVFOR Operational Headquarters.

The largest European Union-led military operation EU NAVFOR - Operation ATALANTA was launched late in 2008 in response to the rising levels of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia. Warships deployed on EU NAVFOR escort WFP ships delivering aid to the Somali people, deter and apprehend pirates and armed robbers in the area of operation, complete monitoring of fishing activity, and conduct other tasks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Currently, 23 EU and 3 non-EU member states are contributing the up to 2 thousand personnel of EU NAVFOR - Operation ATALANTA.

EU NAVFOR - Operation ATALANTA is not the only EU-led operation that Lithuania is contributing to. From this spring Lithuanian military instructors have been deployed to the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) to provide training for Malian military. The EUTM Mali objective is to enhance operational capabilities and activities of the Malian Armed Forces in order to incapacitate it to ensure territorial integrity of the country and to counter attacks of terrorist groups inside the country.

Lithuania’s participation in the EU-led multinational operations contributes to international crisis management efforts and strengthens the Commons Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).