NATO Council agrees to end Libya operation

Twenty-eight members of the NATO Council agreed to end the seven-month air operations in Libya from October 31 at their meeting in Brussels on Friday, media reports said. The decision came after Libya’s 42-year leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed on October 20. Confrontation between Gaddafi loyalists and the opposition lasted for nine months and left thousands dead. The new Libyan administration, the National Transitional Council, asked the NATO Council to extend the operation for another month on October 26. Rasmussen said on Thursday that NATO did not expect to play a major role in post-conflict Libya. "If requested we can assist the new Libyan government in the transformation to democracy, for instance with defense and security sector reform, but I wouldn't expect new tasks beyond that," he said. The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Thursday to end the mandate for the operation in Libya. The resolution also provides for unblocking assets of the Libyan national oil company and the Zueitina oil company. The NATO Council meeting will be followed by Rasmussen’s video address.