NATO ends Unified Protector op in Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen traveled to Libya Monday to mark the end of the alliance's Operation Unified Protector in the country.

The air operation ends at midnight Monday, seven months after it began, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a release.

Rasmussen met National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil and other members of the new Libyan leadership, as well as representatives of Libya's civilian population.

"Libya is finally free -- from Benghazi to Brega, from Misurata to the Nafusa mountains and Tripoli," Rasmussen said during a news conference. "Your courage, determination and sacrifice have transformed this country and helped change the region."

NATO provided air support for forces that ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as part of a U.N. resolution calling on NATO to protect Libyan civilians from elements loyal to Gadhafi.

"At midnight tonight, a successful chapter in NATO's history is coming to an end," Rasmussen said. "But you have already started writing a new chapter in the history of Libya. A new Libya, based on freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and reconciliation."

The secretary-general said NATO could assist Libyan officials with defense and security matters, if asked. He also expressed the hope that a democratic Libya would join NATO "one day soon," if that is what the Libyan people want.