Operation Libelle
The operation dragonfly was the name of an operation of the Bundeswehr in March 1997 in Albania, in the German and other foreign citizens from Tirana were flown. In the same week, U.S. and Italian units evacuated their citizens from Albania.
The exchange of fire during the evacuation in Tirana is called the first battle of the Bundeswehr since the Second World War.
Situation in Albania on 13 March 1997
Because of the from the south of the country spreading unrest, the so-called lottery uprising, broke on 13 March 1997 along the state order in Albania. In the capital, Tirana looting took place and the city's airport could not be approached. The remaining in the country by foreign citizens were in acute danger.
The Foreign Office had already on 11 March 1997, all Germans in Albania asked to leave the country. Italy had begun to airlift foreign citizens. A German citizen transportation by land towards the Adriatic coast was no longer possible in the morning on 14 March 1997. For them and citizens of other nations in the care of the German Embassy was left with the air evacuation. Because Allied forces were able to provide assistance, the German Federal Government decided under Chancellor Helmut Kohl after informing the Group Chairman of the parties in the German Bundestag and the chairmen of the Defence Committee, to be carried out using the evacuation.
Expiration of the "Operation Libelle"
The command of the task force had the later Brigadier General Henning Glawatz, at that time still in the rank of Colonel and commander of the Airborne Brigade 26 Saarland.
On 18 March 1997, the Federal Cabinet to forward to the German Bundestag the request for approval of the use decided. On March 19, 1997, the relevant committees concerned with the application and on 20 March 1997, the German Parliament voted by a large majority a resolution to this.
Fully flown people
A total of 98 people have been flown from 22 nations of the Bundeswehr:
Aftermath
Although the forces detached dragonfly officially out of the task force GECONSFOR and thus from the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR ) before the start of surgery and were placed under national command, they were from the Federal Ministry of Defence, like after surgery Pegasus, an award for use in retrospect denied because the operation should have been a natural part of the deployment of SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina.