Nato has been locked in dispute about whether to take charge of the mission to enforce a UN resolution.

It is believed there are differences of opinion whether attacks on ground troops should form part of the action.

Coalition raids on Libya are meanwhile continuing for a sixth consecutive night. Mr Rasmussen has insisted there is no split on the military handover, saying Nato is still considering whether to take on the "broader responsibility".

The handover of the no-fly mission could come as early as this weekend. Mr Rasmussen said all Nato members had agreed to the move, including Turkey, which had expressed doubts over strikes on a fellow Muslim country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Nato's decision to take command of the no-fly zone operation.

The US initially agreed to lead enforcement of the UN resolution, but made clear it wanted only a limited role and would hand over responsibility as soon as possible.

But the handover to NATO became bogged down when Turkey made clear its view that action should focus directly on enforcing the no-fly zone and arms embargo, rather than allowing any continuing strikes against ground forces.

The resolution authorises the international community to use "all necessary means" to protect Libyan civilians, but the phrase has become open to different interpretations.

Further discussions are being held about command of action beyond strictly enforcing the no-fly zone.