The chiefs of staff of countries militarily involved in the Libyan conflict agreed on Monday that the war in the North African country was not over yet.

A statement from their meeting in the Gulf state of Qatar said that joint action was still needed to uproot the remnants of Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

"The chiefs of staff of the coalition countries have unanimously agreed that the war is yet to end," said the statement.

They also agreed that "there is a need to continue the joint action until the Libyan people achieve their goal by eliminating the remnants of Kadhafi," it added.

Libyan rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil warned as the meeting opened that Kadhafi still posed a danger both inside and outside Libya, and urged no let-up in international action against the strongman.

"Kadhafi's defiance of the coalition forces still poses a danger, not only for Libya but for the world. That is why we are calling for the coalition to continue its support," he said.

"Without the support of NATO, the rebels would never be where they are today," he said, as the insurgents prepared on Monday to launch an assault on Kadhafi's hometown of Sirte after routing his forces in the capital Tripoli a week ago.

The international coalition launched Operation Unified Protector in Libya on March 19 under a UN mandate which authorised air strikes to protect civilians in the country's civil war which began with a peaceful revolt in mid-February.

Since March 31, the air strikes have been carried out under the command of NATO, but the NATO mandate expires on September 27.

US Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of NATO's Joint Operations Command, told the meeting the future role of NATO is uncertain.

"The UN mandate is until September 27 and the NATO's role will only be clear in the near future," he said.

Another senior rebel leader, Jallal al-Digheily -- who holds the defence portfolio in the National Transitional Council -- told the meeting that coalition support was needed to eliminate the last pockets of resistance by Kadhafi's loyalist troops.

"We still need the support (of the coalition) to re-establish security and eliminate the sleeper cells and the remainder of Kadhafi's regime," Digheily said.

Rebel military chief Abdulkarim Belhaj also addressed the participants, expressing gratitude to the coalition forces and promising to "secure the shores of Libya to prevent illegal immigration to Europe of which Kadhafi had threatened."

He also assured them that the "rebels were militarily disciplined under the command of the interim political leadership."

Qatar's General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, who chaired the meeting, told participants there was "a need for military support to continue and to look deeply into the security situation in Libya."

About 15 countries, including the United States, France, Britain and Italy, are taking part in the Doha meeting.

Although Kadhafi's whereabouts remain a mystery, there is widespread speculation he is holed up among tribal supporters in Sirte, 360 kilometres (225 miles) east of Tripoli.

The rebels have offered a $1.7 million-dollar reward for Kadhafi's capture, dead or alive.

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