Operation Sicilian Vespers
The operation Sicilian Vespers ( Italian Operazione Vespri Siciliani ) was an important security and police operation in Sicily , by the Italian military forces and July 8, between 25 July 1992, conducted 1998th The name of the operation refers to the Sicilian Vespers , the successful uprising against the rule of the Anjou in the 13th century.
backgrounds
In the 1980s, the mafia adopted a more aggressive strategy towards the state and public institutions. This led to an opposing and contrary reaction from the police and the judiciary. In the second half of the 1980s, the largest trial against members of the Mafia, the so-called Maxi Trial , took place. With the end of the Cold War and the simultaneous anti-corruption campaign by the judiciary, known as the “ Clean Hands ”, the political order of Italy was shaken to its foundations. At the same time, the Mafia is losing its traditional political ally, the Christian Democratic Party , and the protection its role in suppressing the Communist Party guarantees. All of this prompted the leading mafia leaders to begin a campaign of massacres and attacks in Sicily and the rest of Italy from 1992. The explosive attacks in which Judges Giovanni Falcone (May 23, 1992) and Paolo Borsellino (July 19, 1992) and their police escorts were killed were of great emotional significance for public opinion .
history
On July 24, 1992, the government decided to send the army to the island. The operation had become necessary to support the regular police forces in their fight against the mafia. Operation Sicilian Vespers was the Italian Army's largest homeland security operation since the end of World War II . During the entire operation (1992–1998) around 150,500 members of the military were deployed, including 12,050 officers, 12,400 non-commissioned officers and 126,050 troop soldiers. The air force was also used to control the territory, which completed 2966 hours of helicopter flight.
The tasks of the army were:
- Transfer of the most important mafia prisoners from the prison in Palermo to other Italian penal institutions;
- Protecting those on the front lines in the fight against organized crime;
- Fixed and mobile surveillance network to protect sensitive targets;
- Searching, patrolling the neighborhoods and searching the territory;
- Establishing roadblocks on roads across the island.
The results of the operation were:
- 21,512 patrols
- 39,014 roadblocks
- 62,975 building controls
- 665,426 vehicle controls
- 813,390 people identified
- 1225 people handed over to the police
- 168 weapons and 3,113 kg of explosives confiscated
The operation was completed in 1998.
literature
- Pietro Serino: The Italy Army's Role in Homeland Security , USAWC Strategy Research Report, July 2003.