NATO vows to push on with Libya campaign

Gaddafi had vowed in his latest broadside that NATO would be defeated.

Lisbon: NATO will push ahead with its bombing
campaign in Libya for as long as it deems there is still a
threat from forces loyal to fugitive former leader Muammar
Gaddafi, the alliance`s chief said on Thursday.

Speaking after Gaddafi had vowed in his latest broadside
that NATO would be defeated; the organisation`s secretary
general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was time for the colonel
to throw in the towel.

"NATO and our partners will continue the mission as long
as the threat remains. Gaddafi and the remains of his machine
must realise that there is nothing to be gained from more
fighting," he said on a visit to Portugal.

"Libya is turning a new page. The future of Libya is now
in the hands of the Libyan people," Rasmussen told reporters.

Rasmussen also defended the conduct of the seven-month
air campaign, saying everything had been done to avoid
civilian casualties.

"Our operation in Libya has been a great success," said
the former Danish premier.

"We`ve been very cautious the way we`ve been conducting
the operations to avoid civilian victims. We`ve prevented a
massacre ... I don`t think we could have done something
different."

In his latest interview with a Syrian television station
from his desert hideout, Gaddafi said NATO "will be defeated"
as its "logistical capacities will not allow it" to press on
with its campaign.

Bureau Report

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