NATO chief rejects Italian call for ceasefire

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday rejected an Italian call to suspend airstrikes.

Rasmussen told French daily Le Figaro that the alliance “will take the time needed until the military objective has been achieved”.

The 14-week campaign has so far failed to dislodge Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

A number of civilian casualties have led to growing calls that the alliance is going against the mission’s initial goal of saving Libyan lives.

Earlier this week, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini proposed halting the military intervention to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

But France and Britain have also rejected Rome’s proposal.

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