( CNN ) -- NATO 's leader confidently proclaimed on Sunday that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi 's days are numbered , but he could n't foresee how long the alliance 's grinding mission to protect besieged civilians will last . `` The game is over for Gadhafi , '' NATO 's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN 's `` State of the Union . '' `` He should realize sooner rather than later that there 's no future for him or his regime . '' NATO 's Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the endgame in Libya . Rasmussen , a former Danish prime minister , believes Gadhafi will be ushered out of power amid the `` wind of change '' sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East , and the dramatic military strides in Afghanistan and Pakistan . `` This week we have seen a major blow to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden 's evil vision of conflict as a means to create conflict between the Muslim world and the rest of the world . And in Afghanistan , the Taliban is under pressure everywhere , so basically I am very optimistic , '' he said , making reference to the killing of bin Laden by U.S. Navy SEALs on Monday in Pakistan . The alliance has been carrying out a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the protection of civilians from the Gadhafi regime by any means necessary , and since March 31 , its planes have been pounding targets across the country . According to NATO 's latest daily operational update , NATO planes struck several targets on Sunday , including an ammunition storage site in the Zintan region , tanks in Misrata and Ajdabiya , military vehicles in al-Brega , and headquarters compound buildings and ammunition and vehicle storage facilities in Hun , south of Sirte . There have been widespread assumptions among experts that the conflict between pro- and anti-Gadhafi forces will continue to be a stalemate for some time . Rasmussen was asked when the NATO operation would be completed but all he could say was `` it needs an end of the mission . '' `` We have defined three very clear military objectives , '' he said . `` Firstly , a complete end to all attacks against civilians . Secondly , a free and unhindered and immediate access for humanitarian assistance . And thirdly , a withdrawal of Gadhafi military forces and paramilitary forces to their bases and barracks . When these objectives are fulfilled , our mission is accomplished . '' He said `` it 's hard to imagine '' that the `` outrageous and systematic attacks '' by pro-Gadhafi forces against Libyans will halt as along as Gadhafi stays in power . He said there needs to be a political and not a military solution with a `` peaceful transition to democracy '' as Gadhafi leaves power . But the conflict rages on . The Tunisian state news-agency reported on Sunday that 50 people were injured when government forces and rebels clashed near the Tunisian-Libyan border on Saturday . Gadhafi 's forces on Saturday bombed key fuel depots in the besieged city of Misrata , destroying six containers and causing a massive fire , a rebel spokesman said . Meanwhile , in the de facto rebel capital , Benghazi , the Libyan opposition said Saturday that Italy has agreed to arm the rebels . Abdul Hafiz Ghoga , deputy chairman of the National Transitional Council , said opposition representatives have flown to Italy to finish the deal . The Italian Foreign Ministry categorically denied it will send weapons to Libya . A press office spokesman said Italy will only go as far as sending non-lethal weapons such as satellite and radar systems to aid the rebels . The rebels , intent on winning on the ground without foreign troops , have been asking for arms supplies as the war rages in cities like Misrata .
Rasmussen cites the 'wind of change ' in the Arab world . There 's no way to gauge the end of the mission , Rasmussen says . NATO planes strike more targets in Libya .