War crimes prosecutor calls for arrest of Gaddafi

ICC prosecutor Luis Mareno Ocampo believes he has a strong case for the arrest of Gaddafi, one of his sons and his intelligence chief

PETER CAVE: The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is calling for the arrest of Moamar Gaddafi, his son and his brother-in-law. The three are wanted on charges of crimes against humanity.

Saif al Islam was long considered the future face of Libya but the ICC says it now has firm evidence that Colonel Gaddafi's second son was closely involved in the mass killing of civilians.

Europe correspondent, Emma Alberici.

EMMA ALBERICI: The International Criminal Court in The Hague claims that members of the Libyan regime have secretly handed over evidence that proves without doubt that Colonel Gaddafi has been systematically killing his own people with the close assistance of his second son and his brother-in-law, who acts as his intelligence chief.

Luis Moreno Ocampo is the ICC's chief prosecutor

LUIS MORENO OCAMPO: Shot demonstrators with live ammunitions, use of heavy weaponry against participants in funeral processions and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after the prayers. The crimes are crimes against humanity.

EMMA ALBERICI: But the history of the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide doesn't augur well for the prosecutor's efforts.

It was created in 2002 in response to the genocide in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, but its credibility has long suffered from the refusal of some of the world's most powerful countries to recognise its jurisdiction.

The US, Russia, China, India and all Middle Eastern countries, and Libya, are among those who have not signed the ICC treaty which has been ratified by 114 of the 193 recognised states.

The Libyan government issued a statement, claiming that the ICC was merely a baby of the EU that only targets African leaders.

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Don't know if Gaddafi is dead or alive: Nato

A Libyan boy holds up a Kingdom of Libya flag at a checkpoint after crossing from Libya into Tunisia at the border crossing in Dehiba May 7, 2011.

Nato said on Tuesday it was unaware of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi being dead or alive and denied its air strikes on Tripoli were aimed to kill him. "All Nato targets are military targets, which means that the targets we've been hitting are command and control bunkers," Nato spokesman Cl audio Gabellini told reporters, adding "and it happened also last night in Tripoli".

"Nato is not targeting individuals," he said via videolink from the operation's headquarters in Naples, Italy.

When asked whether Gaddafi was still still alive, the Italian Nato general said, "We don't have any evidence. We don't know what Gaddafi is doing right now."

Fresh sorties by Nato warplanes struck the Libyan capital on late Monday and on early Tuesday in some of the heaviest bombing missions in weeks. The air strikes reportedly targeted a military base and a compound used by Gaddafi.

Nato earlier rejected claims by Libya on Tuesday that the military alliance attacked the Supreme Court building in Tripoli and various civilian targets.

Since the Nato mission in Libya began March 31, its jets have conducted a total of 5,968 sorties, including more than 2,300 strike missions, the alliance said on Tuesday.

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37 dead as Gaddafi regime hits back

Muammar Gaddafi's regime has struck back at its opponents with a powerful attack on the closest opposition-held city to Tripoli and a barrage of tear gas and live ammunition to smother new protests in the capital.

At least 37 people died in fighting and in an explosion at an ammunitions depot in Libya's rebellious east.

The bloodshed signalled an escalation in efforts by both sides to break the deadlock that has gripped Libya's 18-day upheaval, which has lasted longer than the Egyptian revolt that led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak and inspired a wave of protests across the region.

So far, Gaddafi has had little success in taking back territory, with several rebel cities repelling assaults and the entire eastern half of the country under rebel control. But the opposition forces have seemed unable to go on the offensive to march on pro-Gaddafi areas.

Meanwhile, in Tripoli - Gaddafi's most important bastion - his loyalists have waged a campaign of terror to ensure that protesters do not rise up in significant numbers.

Friday's assault on the rebel city of Zawiya, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, appeared to be the strongest yet by Gaddafi's forces after repeated earlier forays against it were beaten back.

In the morning, troops from the elite Khamis Brigade - named after the Gaddafi son who commands it - bombarded the city's western edges with mortar shells, heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft weapons, several residents said. By the evening, another brigade had opened a front on the eastern side. Armed Zawiya citizens backed by allied army units were fighting back.

The commander of the rebel forces, Hussein Darbouk, was killed by fire from an anti-aircraft gun, said Alaa al-Zawi, an activist in the city. Darbouk was a colonel in Gaddafi's army who defected along with other troops in Zawiya early in the uprising.

A witness in Zawiya's hospital said at least 18 people were killed and 120 wounded. Libyan state TV reported the attackers had retaken the city but Mr al-Zawi, the witness and other residents said it remained in rebel hands, with skirmishes continuing after nightfall.

A doctor on the scene said pro-Gaddafi fighters would not allow medics to treat the injured, opened fire on ambulances and hauled away the bodies of some of the dead in an apparent effort to keep death toll reports low. The gunmen killed a wounded rebel with three shots as a medic tried to pull him to safety, even threatening to shoot the medic, the doctor said.


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Libyan protesters brave bullets to close in on Gaddafi

TRIPOLI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi will fight a popular revolt to "the last man standing," one of his sons said on Monday as people in the capital joined protests for the first time after days of violent unrest in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Anti-government protesters rallied in Tripoli's streets, tribal leaders spoke out against Gaddafi, and army units defected to the opposition as oil exporter Libya endured one of the bloodiest revolts to convulse the Arab world.

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appeared on national television in an attempt to both threaten and calm people, saying the army would enforce security at any price.

"Our spirits are high and the leader Muammar Gaddafi is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are behind him as is the Libyan army," he said.

"We will keep fighting until the last man standing, even to the last woman standing...We will not leave Libya to the Italians or the Turks."

Wagging a finger at the camera, he blamed Libyan exiles for fomenting the violence. But he also promised dialogue on reforms and wage rises.

The cajoling may not be enough to douse the anger unleashed after four decades of rule by Gaddafi -- mirroring events in Egypt where a popular revolt overthrew the seemingly impregnable President Hosni Mubarak 10 days ago.

In the coastal city of Benghazi protesters appeared to be largely in control after forcing troops and police to retreat to a compound. Government buildings were set ablaze and ransacked.

In the first sign of serious unrest in the capital, thousands of protesters clashed with Gaddafi supporters. Gunfire rang out in the night and police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw stones at Gaddafi billboards.

Human Rights Watch said at least 223 people have been killed in five days of violence. Most were in Benghazi, cradle of the uprising and a region where Gaddafi's grip has always been weaker than elsewhere in the oil-rich desert nation.

Habib al-Obaidi, a surgeon at the Al-Jalae hospital, said the bodies of 50 people, mostly shot dead, were brought there on Sunday afternoon. Two hundred wounded had arrived, he said.

"One of the victims was obliterated after being hit by an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) to the abdomen," he said.

Members of an army unit known as the "Thunderbolt" squad had brought wounded comrades to the hospital, he said. The soldiers said they had defected to the cause of the protesters and had fought and defeated Gaddafi's elite guards.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/libya-protests-idUSLDE71K00720110221