By DPA,
Athens: Two US warships carrying 1,200 Marines were docked at the US military base on the southern Mediterranean island of Crete Saturday as the US increased its military presence in the region amid escalating tensions in Libya.
The amphibious assault ship with a fleet of helicopters, and the attack destroyer arrived at Souda Bay the previous day, carrying a total of around 4,000 personnel including the Marines.
The arrival of the vessels, the Kearsage and USS Ponce, coincided with a demonstration in the nearby city of Hania by about 100 supporters of Greece’s Communist Party who are opposed to the presence of US forces.
Earlier in the week, around 400 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina arrived at the US military base on Crete.
US President Barack Obama has provided US military aircraft to assist international efforts to evacuate refugees from the Libyan border with Tunisia. He has also called on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.
Gaddafi’s forces been engaged in a brutal crackdown against mass democratic protests throughout the country.
The US and Europe are considering the use of NATO air power to impose a no-fly zone to prevent air attacks on the Libyan opposition in many parts of the North African country.