The Dutch contribution to Operation Golden Eagle, Ivory Coast

On 10 November, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence decided to make a KDC-10 transport aircraft available. The next day, the aircraft flew to Abidjan, where there were still many foreign diplomatic missions.

On board was a detachment of the Commando Corps of the Royal Netherlands Army. The commandos were to provide protection during the evacuation of the embassy staff and the Dutch nationals. On 12 November, the Dutch nationals who had gathered in the embassy compound, as well as several dozen nationals of other member states of the European Union, were evacuated.

Embassy closed

2 days later, the embassy closed and the commandos, in cooperation with French military personnel, escorted the last Dutch nationals the ambassador, his wife and 2 members of staff, to the airport near Abidjan, where they were picked up by a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. On 17 November, everyone arrived safely on Dutch soil.