NATO’s air base set in Izmir, Turkey
NATO is planning to take control of all United Nations-mandated military operations against Libya - fully replacing the United States-led coalition that has carried out airstrikes so far, officials in Brussels said Friday.
Overnight, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance had 'taken on the responsibility for the no-fly zone, while the coalition still continues its activities.'
NATO has currently agreed to perform two of the tasks authorized by UN Security Council resolution 1973: enforcement of the no-fly zone and patrolling an arms embargo in the Mediterranean.
The operation is set be run from NATO's air base in Izmir, Turkey, with overall command in Naples, which already supervises naval embargo operations.