AN AL-JAZEERA report appears to show western special forces on the front line in Libya, in what the TV channel said was “evidence for the first time of allied boots on the ground”.
A group of six westerners are clearly visible in the report by al-Jazeera from Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misurata. Five of them are armed and wear informal sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps and cotton Arab scarves.
The sixth, and apparently the most senior of the group, carries no visible weapon and wears a pink, short-sleeved shirt. It is possible he is an intelligence officer. The group is seen talking to rebels and then quickly leaving the scene on being spotted by the TV crew.
The reporter, Tony Birtley, a veteran war correspondent, said: “Here a group of armed foreigners, possibly British, are seen liaising with the fighters. It could be to facilitate forthcoming helicopter attacks.” In the report, first broadcast on Sunday, Birtley did not say why he thought the soldiers were British.
There have been numerous reports in the British press that SAS soldiers are acting as spotters in Libya to help Nato warplanes target pro-Gadafy forces. In March six special forces soldiers and two MI6 officers were detained by opposition fighters when they landed on an abortive mission to meet rebel leaders in Benghazi, in an embarrassing episode for the SAS. The group were withdrawn soon afterwards and a new “liaison team” was sent in their place.
In April British foreign secretary William Hague announced that an expanded military liaison team would be dispatched to work with the National Transitional Council in Benghazi. Mr Hague said the team would help the rebels improve "organisational structures, communications and logistics" but stressed that: "Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition's fighting forces, nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the NTC's military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice." – ( Guardianservice)