Spokeswoman Carmen Romero said Tuesday that, as long as Gadhafi's forces threaten civilians, NATO will continue air operations over Libya.

When NATO took command of operations, it expected that a sharp blow would quickly persuade Gadhafi to yield power, but the bombing campaign -- now in its fifth month -- has yet to dislodge his regime.

Meanwhile, the eight-nation coalition carrying out the strikes has been fraying, with the U.S. and Italy decreasing their participation and Norway saying it will pull out altogether August 1st, NATO says it has the resources to maintain the campaign at its present level.