NATO delays decision to end mission as Libyans seek further help

NATO delays decision to end mission as Libyans seek further help

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has postponed its formal decision to end its bombing campaign in Libya as consultations continued on Wednesday with the United Nations and the country's interim government over how and when to recuperate the operation.

Fear of violence resurgence

However, air patrols have continued in the meantime because some alliance members were concerned that a quick end to NATO's seven-month operation could lead to resurgence in violence.

Libya's interim leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, on Wednesday urged NATO to maintain its involvement in the country until the end of the year though the Western military alliance that helped topple Muammar Gaddafi is keen to wind up its formal mission within days.

With Gaddafi's son and supposed heir-apparent believed to be at large and seeking to flee following his father's killing last week, Abdel Jalil, said he wanted NATO help in stopping Gaddafi loyalists escaping justice.

Speaking in Qatar, the most active Arab backer of the Western move against Gaddafi, Abdel Jalil told reporters: "We look forward to NATO continuing its operations until the end of the year."

He called for technical and logistics help from neighbouring and friendly countries.

Consultations

On Wednesday, NATO’s spokeswoman, Carmen Romero, said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was consulting with the United Nations and Libya's National Transition Council.

"The NAC will meet with partners on Friday to discuss our Libya mission and take a formal decision", she said.

She added that there was an ongoing process in the UN Security Council.

In Qatar, Abdul-Jalil was said to have attended an international planning conference on Wednesday with representatives of Gulf States and Western powers that participated in the Libyan operation.

The meeting was expected to focus on how the allies could help the new authorities bring stability to the nation.

NATO’s stand

Meanwhile, at the Brussels’ headquarters of the alliance, whose air strikes and intelligence backed the motley rebel forces for eight months at substantial financial cost, NATO officials recalled that their UN mandate was to protect civilians, not target individuals.

A meeting of NATO ambassadors, postponed from Wednesday to Friday to allow for further discussion with the NTC and United Nations, was still due to endorse a preliminary decision to halt the Libya mission on October 31, a spokeswoman for the bloc said.

Asked if NATO ambassadors on Friday would stick to the decision to end the mission at the end of the month, spokeswoman Carmen Romero said: "That is the preliminary decision ... The formal decision will be taken this week."

In her words, “for the time being, NATO continues to monitor the situation on the ground, and retained the capability to respond to any threats to civilians.”

Seeking military ties

The US Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta declined to say whether the Obama administration intends to seek military ties with Libya's new government amid uncertainty about Islamist influences there after the demise of strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

A triumph for Western intervention

The Libyan war, which saw Gaddafi's power extinguished in late August at a cost of no casualties for NATO forces, has been proclaimed a triumph for Western intervention.

But the expense of thousands of air strikes, led by French and British jets with US logistical support, has left NATO governments keen to end it now.

The alliance had last week, announced preliminary plans to phase out its mission on October 31 and NATO's governing body, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) was expected to formalize that decision on Wednesday.

REUTERS/AP/Shakira/Williams