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NATO sends advisers to Libya

BRUSSELS, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Members of NATO agreed to send an advisory team to Libya to help the country strengthen its security sector, the NATO secretary-general said Monday.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said allies were responding to a request from the Libyan government for advice on how to build its defense institutions.

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"We will establish a small advisory team to conduct this effort," he said in a statement. "This advisory effort will work in close coordination with and complement efforts by other international organizations and bilateral efforts by allies, and will avoid duplications."

NATO forces intervened in Libya's civil war in 2011. The military alliance was mandated to use force to protect civilians from attacks by pro-government troops.

Libya has struggled to maintain a sense of national security since civil war ended in 2011. A June travel advisory from the U.S. State Department said the security situation in the country is "unpredictable."

The Libyan government said a military police commander was killed last week in the restive western city of Benghazi.

Rasmussen didn't indicate which members of the alliance would contribute to the advisory team.

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