NATO to coordinate end to Libya mission with U.N., NTC

“After 42 years, Colonel Gaddafi’s rule of fear has finally come to an end,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement. “I call on all Libyans to put aside their differences and work together to build a brighter future.”

Rasmussen urged the National Transitional Council to prevent any reprisals against civilians and to show restraint in dealing with defeated pro-Gaddafi forces.

Hailing successful implementation by NATO of a U.N. mandate to protect the Libyan people, he added: “We will terminate our mission in coordination with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council.”

Rasmussen said that with the fall of Gaddafi’s last strongholds of Bani Walid and Sirte, “that moment has now moved much closer.” Reuters