Tripoli (ANTARA News/Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed the end of the alliance`s military intervention in Libya, which helped bring about the overthrow and death of Muammar Gaddafi.

"It`s great to be in Libya, free Libya," Rasmussen told a media conference in the capital Tripoli. "We acted to protect you. Together we succeeded. Libya is finally free, from Benghazi to Brega, from Misrata to the Western Mountains and to Tripoli."

He said he was proud of the part NATO had played in the seven-month insurgency against Gaddafi, in which NATO planes and ships turned their firepower on his forces.

"At midnight tonight a successful chapter in NATO history will come to an end. You have already started writing a new chapter in Libya`s history. Our commanders were very careful to make sure we did not harm you or your families," he said. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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