Officials say Nato's bombing campaign in Libya, now in its seventh month, will continue despite the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
French defense minister Gerard Longuet said on Thursday the airstrikes will not cease until all remaining pockets of resistance are suppressed
and the new government asks for them to end.
Longuet is attending a conference of Nato defense ministers. Discussions have focused on Libya and Afghanistan, where the alliance is in the process of extricating itself from a 10-year war against Taliban insurgents.
Although the former rebels now control most of Libya, some regions remain under control of pro-Gaddafi forces.
These include Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Bani Walid and parts of the south.