Afghan president drops Oslo visit

The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has postponed his planned visit to Norway on Friday following this week’s attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The attack killed the US ambassador to Libya and several American diplomats. Karzai had planned to meet with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo as Norwegian troops withdraw from Afghanistan [...]

Norway may compensate civilian casualties in Libya

Norwegian fighter jets were among the most active during last year’s NATO strike on Libya, and NATO is under rising pressure to recognize and offer compensation for civilian casualties. Norway may go along with any demands posed by Libyan authorities. “There’s no obligation to pay compensation and there are good reasons for that,” Defense Minister [...]

Probe demanded of Libya bombings

Jan Egeland, the former Norwegian diplomat who now heads Human Rights Watch in Europe, is calling for an investigation into Norway’s and NATO’s bombing of Libya last year. Egeland fears the bombing killed too many of the civilians that the UN-backed mission was supposed to protect. Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that at least [...]

Statoil holds off on Libya reopening

Norwegian oil company Statoil won’t say when it plans to re-open its office in Tripoli but company officials confirm they’re watching developments in Libya carefully, not least since the country officially declared its liberation from 42 years of dictatorial rule under Moammar Gadhafi. “We’re following the developments in Libya very closely, with the thought of [...]

Norway promises support for Libya

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has promised support for Libya’s transition to a “united and democratic” country following the death of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday. The support, however, won’t be without conditions. “We expect (Libya’s) National Transitional Council to respect international law and humanitarian law in its further efforts to ensure [...]

Norway backs Libya amidst scolding

The Norwegian government, led by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, has officially recognized the new National Transition Council (NTC) in Libya as the country’s legitimate governing authority and a Libyan adviser said Norwegian companies could keep operating, but only after criticizing them as “useful idiots” for the country’s missing dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr [...]

Norway hopes for a ‘new Libya’

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was following the developments in Libya closely on Monday, and noted that embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi had “several opportunities” to end the conflict earlier. Støre claimed the NATO bombings in which Norway took part have played a decisive role in stopping Gadhafi’s attacks on his own people. As [...]

Soldiers come home from Libya

Norwegian soldiers who have returned from the NATO operations in Libya this week have described their experience in the military conflict, while domestic criticism continued. Norway had contributed to the NATO operations in Libya with six F-16 fighter jets, reduced to four in June, which returned on August 1. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Norwegian [...]

Norwegian jets return from Libya

Norwegian F-16 fighter jets that have been assigned to the NATO operations in Libya returned home on Monday, as Norway’s direct involvement in the mission effectively comes to an end. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that Norwegian fighters flew 596 of the 6,125 missions by NATO in total so far, dropping 542 bombs and clocking up [...]

Official silence on Libya talks and bombings

Norway’s foreign and defense ministries continued to decline comment on reports that Oslo is among the cities where discussions are being held between representatives of the Gadhafi regime in Libya and Libyan opposition leaders. Nor would they discuss weekend bombings reported to have killed civilians. A Russian diplomat told reporters late last week that talks [...]

Jets to return from Libya in August

Norwegian government officials have decided to extend Norway’s contribution to the NATO-led bombings of Libya until August 1, when the country’s remaining fighter jets assigned to the operation will be brought home. Politicians called the decision “a decent compromise.” Norway’s left-center government coalition and opposition parties in Parliament had been in broad agreement on the [...]

Libyan targets revealed

Norwegian defense officials have finally revealed more details about the targets bombed by Norwegian fighter jet pilots over Libya. One of four attacks has been directed at Libyan Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s command and communications centers. Newspaper Aftenposten, which has been pressuring Norwegian officials to reveal more details about Norwegian operations over Libya, reported that the [...]

Norway backs extended Libyan operation

The Norwegian government supports NATO’s decision to extend its military intervention in Libya by another three months. It’s unclear, however, whether Norway can continue its fighter jet contribution, and now the country may be asked to supply ground troops instead. Both Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Defense Minister Grete Faremo said it was too [...]

More bombing details due after all

Norwegian defense officials, under criticism over their reluctance to share details about bombing raids over Libya, now promise to be more open. They’ll start offering daily or weekly reports about what Norwegian fighter jet pilots have been doing as they carry out their orders. “We’ve learned from the criticism,” General Major Morten Haga Lunde told [...]

Military defends Libyan operation

Defense ministry and military officials claim Norway’s involvement in the NATO-led intervention in the Libyan civil war remains important and has been more successful than media reports would indicate. They also claim the military wants to be as open as possible about targets and casualties in Libya. “We believe the results are good, the operation [...]

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