Brussels: Nato will continue its' bombing campaign in Libya, alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday, after Italy called for a suspension of hostilities in the north African country.

"Nato will continue this mission because if we stop, countless more civilians could lose their lives," Rasmussen said in a video statement on the Nato website.

The secretary general did not directly refer to Italy, whose Foreign Minister Franco Frattini earlier called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" in Libya.