[Updated at 12:01 p.m. ET] The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Thursday removing its mandate for military intervention, effectively ending the NATO mission in Libya, as of October 31.
Last week, senior NATO officials agreed to a preliminary end date of October 31 for the alliance's seven-month Libya mission. NATO ministers gave preliminary approval to that plan.
But U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this week that Libya's National Transitional Council wanted NATO to stick around until it could establish governance.
However, Libyan Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told the 15-member council Wednesday that the Libyan people were looking forward to ending the NATO mission.
While Libyans were grateful for the international community's support, he said, such measures felt like an infringement of Libya's sovereignty.
The Security Council in March passed a resolution mandating the protection of Libya's civilian population as military forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi advanced on a rebel stronghold in eastern Libya. Within days of the Security Council's decision, NATO forces were engaged in action by air and sea.
The operation relied on three main prongs - implementing a no-fly zone, enforcing an arms embargo and taking action to protect civilians and civilian areas under threat of attack.
Since March 31, some 9,634 strike sorties, where targets are identified or hit, are among 26,000 sorties to have been conducted, NATO said Friday.
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