Governments of 28 NATO members ordered their military to take part in the operation in Libya, US State Secretary Hillary Clinton said.
She noted that the USA is reducing the number of aircraft involved in the operation with the increase of coalition forces. The coalition has carried out 759 flights and used 175 Tomahawk missiles.
Gaddafi’s forces retreated but they are still a threat.
Clinton said that she will take part in an international conference on Libya in London next week.
Heads of states and governments of 27 EU member-states gathered at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, where they approved a ban on oil and gas imports from Libya, RIA Novosti cites the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy as saying.
Rompuy said that the military operation in Libya will end when local civilians are secure.
The European Council adopted new sanctions against Libya on Wednesday. The sanctions are aimed at enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya and supporting the embargo on arms exports to Libya,
The EC banned all aircraft that may carry forbidden cargo or armed mercenaries from flying over Libya.
The sanctions also expanded the list of Libyan officials who have been banned from visiting EU states and whose accounts were frozen for their involvement in violating human rights and attacking civilians.
Sanctions were also introduced against the National Oil Company of Libya. The assets of the company and five of its subsidiaries were frozen.
The disorders in Libya started in mid-February. The protesters demand the resignation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has been in power for over 40 years. International organizations say that thousands have died in clashes with state forces. The Libyan authorities deny the information.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution on March 17, involving the introduction of a no-fly zone over Libya and a military operation against Gaddafi’s forces. The operation was codenamed Odyssey Dawn. The UK, France, USA, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Denmark are involved in the operation.
The Libyan authorities say that the coalition bombings that started on March 19 have resulted in the deaths of dozens of peaceful civilians. The coalition denies the claim.
