Operation Benin

Operation Benin, also known as Operation Cotonou, was a rescue mission carried out by the Lebanese Navy SEALs Regiment in Cotonou, Benin between December 26, 2003 and December 30, 2003 This operation is considered to be the first mission carried out by Lebanese Armed Forces units abroad. Its task was to recover bodies and two black boxes from UTA Flight 141.

A UTA Boeing 727-223 heading to Beirut carrying 161 people, mainly Lebanese going to spend the New Year vacation in Lebanon, crashed into the sea shortly after take off resulting in 139 dead on December 25, 2003. The crash is considered to be the worst accident in the Lebanese aviation history as per the number of Lebanese citizens affected. The plane was a private jet operated by a Libyan businessman, who was amongst the few survivors.

At 12:20 a.m., night of December 25–26, 2003, commander of the Lebanese Navy SEALs Regiment General George Chraim receives a call from the Lebanese Armed Forces commander-in-chief General Michel Suleiman ordering him to prepare a Navy SEALs unit to be fully equipped and immediately dispatched to Beirut International Airport, and then fly for a rescuing and bodies recovering mission in Benin, that's in addition to locating the two black boxes.

According to Colonel Chraim, some soldiers were called after from their homes; in addition, getting the diving gears and equipment, and boats ready was done within a very short time, as the unit was ready at 2:10 a.m. in the airport, and then boarded an MEA airliner that took off at 2:30 a.m.

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