Gaddafi wanted on war-crimes charge

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has asked judges to issue an arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and two other senior members of his regime for crimes against humanity, accusing them of deliberately targeting civilians in their crackdown against rebels.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has asked judges to issue an arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and two other senior members of his regime for crimes against humanity, accusing them of deliberately targeting civilians in their crackdown against rebels.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah Al Sanousi ordered, planned and participated in illegal attacks.

He said Gaddafi’s forces attacked civilians in their homes, shot at demonstrators, shelled funeral processions and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques.

Judges must now evaluate the evidence before deciding whether to confirm the charges and issue international arrest warrants.

The warrants are not expected to have any immediate impact on the war in Libya, but they could make it harder for their targets to end the conflict by going into exile. Because the Security Council ordered the ICC investigation, all UN member states would be obliged to arrest him if he ventures into their territory.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he had evidence of Gaddafi issuing orders, his son organising the recruitment of mercenaries and of Al-Sanousi’s direct involvement in attacks on demonstrators.

He said that the persecution is continuing in areas under Gaddafi’s control.

“Gaddafi’s forces prepare lists with names of alleged dissidents. They are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear,” he said.

“These are not just crimes against Libyans, they are crimes against humanity as a whole,” he added.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was continuing investigations into allegations of mass rapes and war crimes “committed by different parties during the armed conflict” and attacks on sub-Saharan Africans wrongly perceived to be mercenaries.

“There will be no impunity for such crimes in Libya,” he said, adding that his team has gathered so much evidence he is almost ready to go to trial.

Even if Gaddafi flees Libya, some nations have refused to act on arrest warrants. Three countries have let Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visit without arresting him. Al-Bashir has been indicted for crimes including genocide in Darfur in the only other International Criminal Court case ordered by the Security Council.

The Libyan conflict appears largely stalemated, with each side claiming gains one day, only to be turned back the next, despite Nato air strikes aimed at supporting rebels. Gaddafi has vowed to fight to the death.

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