Rasmussen said at a press conference that NATO officials "take note" of a request from the Libyan opposition for foreign nations to launch airstrikes against mercenaries hired by Moamer Kadhafi.

"We follow and monitor the situation closely, take note of requests forwarded," he said after meeting with Montenegro's Prime Minister Igor Luksic at NATO headquarters.

However he added: "I would like to stress that NATO does not have any intention to intervene but as a defence alliance and security organisation we do prudent planning for all eventualities."

The NATO chief has insisted the UN Security Council would have to approve any military action in Libya, including the enforcement of a no-fly zone.

In a speech on Wednesday, Kadhafi warned that "thousands" would die if the West intervened to support the more than two-week uprising against him.

Libyan dissidents who control part of the country's east on Wednesday called on the United Nations to order air strikes against mercenaries fighting for Kadhafi.

"We're calling on the UN or any responsible international body for air strikes on the places and strongholds of the mercenaries," spokesman for the dissidents, Abdel Hafiz Ghoqa, told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The United States and Britain have raised the possibility of policing Libya's airspace to prevent Kadhafi from launching air raids on rebels, and the Arab League on Wednesday said it could consider such a mission.

But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signaled growing caution Wednesday about military intervention in Libya, warning that any US mission would be "controversial" both within Libya and the broader Arab community.

She stressed that imposing an air exclusion zone would be "extraordinarily" complex and that NATO has yet to agree on any military intervention there.

"There is a great deal of caution that is being exercised with respect to any actions that we might take other than in support of humanitarian missions," she told the US Senate when asked about military options for Libya.

France has expressed reluctance over military intervention, though French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said planning for a no-fly zone should go on in case the UN calls for that option.

NATO member Turkey has dismissed any military intervention as "absurd."

US military officials said imposing a no-fly zone on Libya would first require bombing Kadhafi's air defences.

"I think we are a long way from making that decision," Clinton said.

Desite the cautious tone, two US warships, the USS Kearsage and the USS Ponce, entered Mediterranean waters on Wednesday en route to Libya.

The Kearsage amphibious ready group, with about 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities, could support humanitarian efforts as well as military operations.

earlier related report
Three Dutch soldiers captured in Libya: ministry
The Hague (AFP) March 3, 2011 - Three Dutch marines helping to evacuate civilians from Sirte were captured by Libyan soldiers at the weekend, the Dutch defence ministry said Thursday as negotiations continued for their safe return.

"Intensive diplomatic discussions with the Libyan authorities are ongoing," ministry spokesman Otte Beeksma told AFP, saying the three, captured on Sunday, "are doing well under the circumstances".

"We have had direct contact with them (the marines)," he said, but declined to say where they were being held.

Beeksma said the three soldiers were captured by armed men loyal to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in Sirte in the north of the country on Sunday. It happened as they were helping to evacuate two civilians, one Dutch and another European, by helicopter.

The civilians, who were also captured, were handed over to the Dutch embassy on Wednesday, and had since left the country, said Beeksma.

The marines and the helicopter were based on the Dutch navy frigate Tromp.

The warship, initially scheduled to take part in anti-piracy patrols off Somalia, was rerouted on February 24 for the Libyan coast to assist with evacuation operations.

Countries have been scrambling to evacuate their nationals from Libya, where the Libyan Human Rights League says at least 6,000 people have died since the start two weeks ago of a popular revolt against Kadhafi's 41-year-old regime.

The UN refugee agency and International Organisation for Migration say that some 140,000 people have so far left Libya by land.

The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) has raised fears of "a massive movement" of people south towards Niger as they flee the violence. It suspected as many as 100,000 might flee there within a month.

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