Denmark planned to blow up Greenland runways if US invaded, reports say

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Denmark's public broadcaster reports that the US operation to seize Venezuela's leader sparked fears it would act against Greenland.

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Citing sources in the Danish government and military, and also among European allies, DR says blood supplies were also brought in to treat the wounded in the event of fighting.

The Financial Times newspaper said two European officials later confirmed the report. The Danish defence ministry told the BBC it "has no comment".

A senior Danish military official, speaking anonymously, told the BBC "only a limited number of people would have been aware of the operation for security reasons".

Both the US and Denmark are Nato members, and the issue of Greenland - a semi-autonomous part of Denmark - has deeply divided Washington and its European allies.

Trump has repeatedly said he wanted to annex Greenland during his second presidential term. Greenland's leader and Denmark have repeatedly rejected his demands to acquire the island.

DR said it based its report on 12 sources at the top of the Danish government and military, and also sources among Denmark's allies in France and Germany.

They told the broadcaster that Copenhagen asked Paris and Berlin as well as the Nordic nations for political support in dealing with Trump by demonstrating strong European solidarity and holding more joint military activities in Greenland.

But the sources say the situation escalated on 3 January when elite US forces seized Venezuelan President NicolΓ‘s Maduro in a lightning operation in the capital Caracas.

The day after, Trump told reporters he would "worry about Greenland in about two months" and repeated that "we need Greenland from a national security situation. It's so strategic", adding without providing evidence: "Right now Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place."

A high-ranking Danish security source told DR that "when Tr

Source: BBC

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