Civilian safety key to ending Libya mission: NATO

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO will assess the ability of Libya's new rulers to protect the civilian population before declaring an end to military operations there, the head of the alliance said on Wednesday.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference that ending U.N.-sanctioned military operations was not dependent upon locating ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose whereabouts are unknown.

"He is not the target of our operation," Rasmussen said. "The decisive factor will be the protection of the civilian population."

"When no threat exists against the civilian population, the time has come to terminate our operation," he added.

NATO launched the operation after the United Nations authorized the use of limited force to protect the civilian population from fighting between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels seeking the long-time leader's overthrow.

With Gaddafi now pushed from power and forces loyal to the new National Transitional Council in control of much of the country, NATO leaders have been assessing when it would be appropriate to end their military operation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this week that NATO officials were discussing the issue but he suspected the mission would continue "as long as there's fighting that's continuing."

NATO extended its mission, which includes no-fly zones, arms embargoes and air strikes on forces attacking civilians, for another 90 days in September. But it reviews the situation regularly with a view to ending the operation.

"When we are going to make the decision to terminate our operation, we will carefully assess the security situation and in particular of course take into account the capability of the National Transitional Council to protect the civilian population effectively," Rasmussen said.

He said NATO would be willing to help Libya's new rulers with security and defense reforms in future if requested.

Colonel Roland Lavoie, a spokesman for Operation Unified Protector, said on Wednesday that NATO had not conducted any air strikes in Libya since Sunday, when it targeted a multiple rocket launcher and an armed vehicle.

He said NATO aircraft were constantly patrolling the air above Sirte, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but he denied suggestions that they had fired weapons in recent days.

(Reporting by David Alexander and David Brunnstrom)