NATO to end Libya mission; Rasmussen "very proud"

Oct 21, 2011, 21:55 GMT

Brussels - NATO's military mission in Libya will end October 31 after its successful effort to protect civilians from a tyrannical government, NATO ambassadors meeting in Brussels late Friday agreed.

The NATO council said the decision was 'preliminary' and that it would make a formal decision 'early next week' in consultation with Libya's transitional authorities.

The decision came just a day after opposition forces captured tyrant Moamer Gaddafi in his last stronghold of Sirte, where he was killed, possibly by Libyan rebels.

'The Council agreed that NATO will wind down the operation, during which period NATO will monitor the situation and retain the capacity to respond to threats to civilians, if needed,' the council said in a statement.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was 'very proud' that NATO had 'prevented a massacre and saved countless lives' under a 'historic' mandate from the United Nations. NATO intervened in Libya beginning March 31 to prevent attacks on civilians.

'Now is the time for the Libyan people to take their destiny fully in their own hands, to build a new inclusive Libya based on democracy and reconciliation, human rights and the rule of law,' Rasmussen said.

The gruesome photos of Gaddafi's capture and killing have prompted calls from Amnesty International for an independent inquiry into the circumstances of his death, and urged his successors to end the 'culture of abuse.'

Gaddafi was captured after a NATO airstrike had targetted his convoy early Thursday morning when it appeared it was trying to leave Sirte in a hurry. NATO denied that it had deliberately targeted Gaddafi, saying it does 'not target individuals.'

But earlier Friday, the military alliance said it had bombed his convoy not knowing the ousted leader was in it, adding that its 'intervention was conducted solely to reduce the threat towards the civilian population,' according to a statement the alliance issued from Naples, where its Libya operation is headquartered.

As for the details of how Gaddafi died, Rasmussen said it was for the Libyan authorities to decide whether a special investigation was needed.

'I would expect them to live up to the spirit the (National Transitional Council) itself has called for, namely democracy and transparency,' he said.

'Now it is the responsibility of the Libyan authorities to deal with the internal Libyan affairs,' Rasmussen said. 'We have conducted our operation with the aim of defending civilians against attack, in accordance with the United Nations resolution.'

Rasmussen, speaking after the NATO ambassadors finished meeting, hailed the 'remarkable success' and unprecedented speed of the mission.

'We were fast, flexible, effective and precise,' Rasmussen said.

He said the success also represented a 'special moment in history' not only for the Libyan people and the wider region but also for the NATO alliance, in which the United States has pushed its European partners to take on more of the burden. France and Britain led the air and sea blockade operations, with support from the United States.

'It shows that freedom is the strongest force in the world,' he said.

Rasmussen said there was no knowledge of the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the late tyrant who fighters said had been arrested in the coastal city of Zlitan, some 300 kilometres west of Sirte, where his father was arrested.

Rasmussen said that NATO had 'no intention' of keeping its forces in the neighbourhood of Libya.

'It is our intention to close the operation. It will be a clear cut end of the operation,' he vowed.

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