PARIS - France's military assistance to rebel forces in Libya would continue until the capture of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said on Tuesday.

"We estimates that there is no urgency for the military disengagement of France in Libya as the situation is not settled militarily," the minister was quoted by the local broadcaster Europe 1 as saying.

Two weeks ago rebel forces streamed into Tripoli and seized strategic zones, forcing pro-Gadhafi forces to collapse and ending months-long conflict. However, Gadhafi's whereabouts remains unknown.

According to Longuet, the Libyan leader "is likely alive" and "doesn't try to stay in the country" and France has "no information" about Gadhafi's possible exit from Libya.

Last week, Paris, which pressed for a military operation in Libya, hold a high-level meeting gathering the contact group over Libya to prepare for a post-Gadhafi era and garner billions of euros in deals to reconstruct the North African country.

France estimates costs of military operation in Libya to stand at about 320 million euros ($449.73 million) at the end of September, the report added.