NATO base Geilenkirchen raises security level
Photo: Twitter
KEY POINTS
- Geilenkirchen base raises security level: The base has been placed on Charlie alert due to a credible threat, sending non-essential personnel home as a precaution.
- Recent security incidents: The maximum alert has been intensified following an attempted break-in in Geilenkirchen and the temporary closure of a base in Cologne due to possible sabotage.
- Tensions between NATO and Russia: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reported an increase in hostile activities, attributing some of them to stepped-up Russian intelligence operations.
The NATO air base in the German city of Geilenkirchen has raised its security level “based on intelligence information indicating a potential threat,” it said late Thursday.
“All non-mission essential personnel have been sent home as a precaution,” the base said in a statement on social media platform X, without elaborating. “The safety of our personnel is our top priority. Operations continue as planned.”
A spokesman for the Geilenkirchen base said the threat level had been raised to Charlie, the second highest of four alert states, which is defined as “an incident (that) has occurred or information has been received indicating that some form of terrorist action against NATO organisations or personnel is highly likely.”
It was the second time the base housing NATO’s fleet of AWACS surveillance aircraft had heightened security levels following last week’s incident, when a military base in nearby Cologne was temporarily sealed off as authorities investigated possible sabotage of the water supply.
On the same day, the Geilenkirchen base also reported an attempted break-in, which led to a complete search of the premises.
In relation to the alleged sabotage at the Cologne base, the German military later gave the go-ahead, stating that test results had shown that the tap water was not contaminated.
NATO has in the past warned of a campaign of hostile activities by Russia, including acts of sabotage and cyberattacks. Russia has regularly accused NATO of threatening its security.
In June, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance saw an evolving pattern and that recent attacks were the result of Russian intelligence becoming more active.
Several incidents on NATO territory have been treated as suspicious by analysts in recent years, including the severing of a vital undersea cable connecting Svalbard to mainland Norway in 2022.
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