After days of fraught talks, as NATO member Turkey raised objections to action by the US-led coalition against Kadhafi's forces, the alliance finally decided to police Libya's skies under a UN-mandated no-fly zone, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

The 28-member alliance will be in charge of preventing Libyan fighter jets from taking to the skies, shooting them down if necessary, NATO officials said.

But the bombing campaign against Kadhafi's tanks and artillery, which kicked off six days ago, will stay in the hands of the coalition led by the United States, Britain and France for the moment.

Talks to unite both missions and transfer control of the broader campaign to NATO would continue through the weekend with a decision expected by Monday, NATO officials said.

Washington has pressed for a quick transfer of command to NATO with several key allies, including Britain and Italy, pushing for the alliance to run the show.

"We have now decided to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya," Rasmussen said.

Asked if and when NATO would assume control of the broader campaign, he said: "We are considering whether NATO should take on that broader responsibility. But that decision has not been made yet."

Until then, NATO would not take part in action to take out pro-Kadhafi military hardware, unless forced to do so in self-defence, he said.

"We are taking action as part of a broad international effort to protect civilians against the Kadhafi regime," he told journalists.

"There will be a coalition operation and a NATO operation," he added.

Earlier a diplomat, who asked not to be named, said alliance members had struck a deal in principle to take over command of military operations in Libya within days.

"NATO countries are in agreement to launch final planning enabling it to take over the command from the coaliton Monday or Tuesday," said the diplomat.

Another diplomatic source cautioned that details remained to be worked out due to Turkey's continued objections to strikes against Kadhafi's regime.

In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also announced the NATO takeover after a conference call with his US, French and British counterparts.

"The coalition formed after a meeting in Paris is going to give up its mission as soon as possible and hand over the entire operation to NATO with its single command structure," Davutoglu said, according to Anatolia news agency.

Paris is insisting on keeping political control in the hands of the coalition, while NATO would run day-to-day operations. France has argued that running the mission mission under NATO's flag would alienate Arab allies suspicious of the Western military machine.

"Everyone must understand that coordination must remain eminently political even if it rests on NATO machinery," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters at a two-day European Union summit.

That would enable non-NATO members, such as Arab partners, to take part in political decision-making, he said.

Few Arab states have joined the military campaign, with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the only nations contributing fighter jets.

A conference is to be held in London next Tuesday to discuss coalition military action against Libya.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the meeting would bring together Britain, France, the United States and all other coalition partners plus the African Union, the Arab League, and "all interested European nations."

Turkey, NATO's sole Muslim member, has offered a submarine and vessels to enforce an arms embargo on the seas. And in Ankara, parliament Thursday approved the dispatch of a naval force as the Islamist-rooted government moved reluctantly to join military action despite anger at Western-led air raids.

But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the coalition strikes.

"We have seen in the past that such operations are of no use and that on the contrary, they increase the loss of life, transform into occupation and seriously harm the countries' unity," he said.

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