UN Security Council ends Libya military mandate

THE UN Security Council unanimously voted today to end the mandate for international military action in Libya.

“The 15-member council ordered an end to authorization for a no-fly zone and action to protect civilians from 11:59pm Libyan time on Oct. 31. The mandate was approved in March after ousted Libyan leader Moamar Ghadafi launched a deadly assault on opposition protests.

NATO, which carried out the airstrikes that played a key role in the downfall of Ghadafi, said it was studying new ways to help the Transitional National Council (TNC), which had asked for an extension to the mandate.

The alliance's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, is due to meet today in Brussels to formally declare an end to its seven-month-old air war.

Security Council Resolution 2016 also eased an international arms embargo so that the TNC can acquire weapons and equipment for its national security.

It ended an assets freeze on the Libyan National Oil Corporation and virtually all restrictions on the central bank and other key institutions. It completely ended the ban on international flights by registered Libyan planes

Meanwhile, the TNC said Thursday that it would prosecute Ghadafi's killers. The move comes after international criticism of the manner of Ghadafi's capture and execution.

"With regards to Ghadafi, we do not wait for anybody to tell us," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the TNC at a news conference in Benghazi.”