UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to lift the no-fly zone over Libya on Oct. 31 and end its authorization of military action to protect civilians.
The council authorized the actions on March 17 in response to an Arab League request to try to halt Moammar Gadhafi’s military, which was advancing against rebels and their civilian supporters. The NATO bombing campaign that followed was critical in helping the rebels oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from power in August.
The council adopted the resolution a day after Libya’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi asked members to wait until the transitional government made an official request, which he hoped would come by Oct. 31.
But the U.N.’s most powerful body decided that there was no need for U.N.-authorized military action following the death of Gadhafi on Oct. 20 and the transitional government’s announcement of the country’s liberation on Sunday.
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