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| A '''flying checkpoint''' or '''hasty checkpoint''' is a ] and ] ] involving the set up of a hasty ] primarily by mobile truck-mounted ] or police units in order to disrupt unauthorized or unwanted movement and/or military activity.<ref name=GlobalSecurity>{{cite web|title=Checkpoints|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|accessdate=05.12.2007|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_93-8_chap9.htm}}</ref> | A '''flying checkpoint''' or '''hasty checkpoint''' is a ] and ] ] involving the set up of a hasty ] primarily by mobile truck-mounted ] or police units in order to disrupt unauthorized or unwanted movement and/or military activity.<ref name=GlobalSecurity>{{cite web|title=Checkpoints|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|accessdate=05.12.2007|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_93-8_chap9.htm}}</ref> | ||
| ==Overview== | |||
| Hasty checkpoints are set up to achieve surprise as opposed to a known permanently located manned ]. They might established in locations where they cannot be observed by approaching ] until it is too late to withdraw and escape without being observed. <ref name=un></ref> | Hasty checkpoints are set up to achieve surprise as opposed to a known permanently located manned ]. They might established in locations where they cannot be observed by approaching ] until it is too late to withdraw and escape without being observed. <ref name=un></ref> | ||
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| Hasty roadblocks and checkpoints are usually established for no more than a few hours, in order to decrease the possibility of ] attacks on them, as well as to maintain their effectiveness as a surprising, unexpected obstacle. <ref></ref> | Hasty roadblocks and checkpoints are usually established for no more than a few hours, in order to decrease the possibility of ] attacks on them, as well as to maintain their effectiveness as a surprising, unexpected obstacle. <ref></ref> | ||
| ==Use by Lebanese militias== | |||
| In a 1983 dispatch from ] to the ], ] described how militias in Beirut seemed to live the principle, "I have a checkpoint, therefore I exist."<ref name=Friedman>{{cite web|title=Living with the violence of Beirut|author=]|publisher=]|date=17 July 1983|accessdate=05.24.2007|url= | |||
| http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E1D61539F934A25754C0A965948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=4}}</ref> He noted that ubiquity of the the phenomenon and of the words for the different types of checkpoints that had entered the ] lexicon: <blockquote>By now, all Beirut drivers know there are normal, fixed checkpoints, or ''hajiz'', as well as mobile or flying checkpoints, known as ''hajiz tayyar'' ({{ar|حاجز طيار}}), which never stay in one spot for more than a few hours in order to maintain an element of surprise.<ref name=Friedman/> | |||
| </blockquote> | |||
| ==Use by Israel== | |||
| {{seealso|Israel Defense Forces checkpoint}} | |||
| According to the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), the Israeli military established 121 flying checkpoints in the ] and ] between October 2006 until April 2007.<ref name=ARIJ/> Most of the flying checkpoints are located in the northern part of the West Bank; in particular, the ], ] and ] governorates.<ref name=ARIJ/> | |||
| Palestinians attempting to cross flying checkpoints can wait anywhere between 20 and 90 minutes, and in some cases, even longer,<ref name=ARIJ/> making it difficult to reaching their destinations be they hospitals, schools, or universities.<ref name=ARIJ/> | |||
| Medical vehicles are often stopped and searched by Israeli soldiers at flying checkpoints. For example, in March 2002, an ] was found in a ] (PRCS) ambulance.<ref name=Likud/> The Red Crescent expressed shock at the incident, and began an internal investigation.<ref name=Likud/> On ] ], a PRCS ambulance not carrying patients was stopped and searched at a flying checkpoint near the village of ]. The ambulance was escorted by military jeep to the Qadomin bus station where after 10 minutes the ambulance crew got their IDs back and were allowed to continue working. In another case, on the same day, an ambulance transporting a diabetic patient to the hospital in ] was stopped, searched, and allowed to proceed after the companion of the patient was arrested.<ref>{{cite web|title=OCHA Humanitarian Update: Occupied Palestinian Territories|publisher=] (OCHA)|date=16 Dec 2003 - 19 Jan 2004|accessdate=05.12.2007|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a35567da2088e7e849256e2400195707}}</ref> | |||
| The ] (ICRC) has "...acknowledged their right to check ambulances, provided it does not unduly delay medical evacuations."<ref name=Likud>{{cite web|title=Bomb Found in Red Crescent Ambulance|]|date=29 March 2002|url=http://www.likud.nl/extr185.html}}</ref> | |||
| ==Use by the United States== | |||
| Flying checkpoints were used in ] by the United States military in Iraq.<ref name=GlobalSecurity.org>{{cite web|title=Tactics, Techniques and Procedures in Operations Other than War|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|accessdate=05.29.2007|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1994/call-haiti-94-3_chp3.htm}}</ref> There, the mobile units had overhead support from attack helicopters and would move forward to key intersections in areas where armed ] or guerrilla fighters were known to operate, setting up hasty roadblocks to disrupt unauthorized or unwanted military activity.<ref name=GlobalSecurity.org/> | |||
| Soldiers were designated to detain and search people, others to overwatch the checkpoint with air cover, mobile mortar support, and quick reinforcement forces and infantry carriers to provide backup in case of the need to maintain position or withdraw.<ref name=GlobalSecurity.org/> | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 15:03, 4 July 2007
A flying checkpoint or hasty checkpoint is a military and police tactic involving the set up of a hasty roadblock primarily by mobile truck-mounted infantry or police units in order to disrupt unauthorized or unwanted movement and/or military activity. Hasty checkpoints are set up to achieve surprise as opposed to a known permanently located manned checkpoint. They might established in locations where they cannot be observed by approaching traffic until it is too late to withdraw and escape without being observed.
The unit establishing the checkpoint must carry the materials necessary to construct it. It might use a vehicle, or multiple vehicles, reinforced with concertina wire, or other objects as the main obstacle. The vehicles might be positioned to partially or entirely block the road or route. The search area might be the space between multiple vehicles. Sentries might be positioned at each end of the checkpoint and are covered by mounted or dismounted automatic weapon positions. A reaction force may be designated and concealed nearby.
Vehicular and pedestrian traffic that approach with the intent of passing flying checkpoints can be asked to produce identification and submit to a search of their persons and/or vehicle. In some cases, people without proper identification or who arouse suspicion may be refused passage, detained, or arrested. Contraband may be confiscated. A flying checkpoint must be functional within 15 minutes of the unit's arrival on-site, and establish security teams 50-100 meters on both side of the area to be controlled. Advanced observation posts may also be positioned further out, if desired.
Hasty roadblocks and checkpoints are usually established for no more than a few hours, in order to decrease the possibility of insurgent attacks on them, as well as to maintain their effectiveness as a surprising, unexpected obstacle.
See also
References
- "Checkpoints". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 05.12.2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ UN Checkpoint operations
- ^ Guide to Military Operations Other Than War: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Stability & Support Operations, Keith Earle Bonn, Anthony E. Baker, p.113-115
- Population and Resources Control