Operation Unified Protector entered its final day Monday, just over seven months after the mission officially began.
Marking the occasion, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen landed in Libya to meet with members of the transitional government and congratulate the country for moving beyond the Gaddafi regime.
“Your courage, determination and sacrifice have transformed this country and helped change the region,” Rasmussen said during a press conference. “At midnight tonight, a successful chapter in NATO’s history is coming to an end. 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.”
Previously, Rasmussen has stated that the international coalition is willing to assist the country if requested by the Libyans.