BREAKING NEWS::International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Gadhafi

BREAKING NEWS

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Gadhafi

The International Criminal Court decided Monday to issue an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two of his relatives.

The court ruled that there was enough evidence to grant a request for the warrants by the court's chief prosecutor, who has said he has evidence that links Gadhafi and two relatives to "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians as part of their effort to hold on to power.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he has evidence linking Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi to crimes against humanity in their attempt to put down a months-long revolt.
Saif al-Islam is a close adviser to his father, while al-Sanussi serves as Gadhafi's head of intelligence.
Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim has previously denied the allegations and criticized what he said were incoherent conclusions of the prosecutor's office.
This is not the first time that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a country's leader in the midst of a conflict. The court issued a warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2007, while conflict simmered in that country's western Darfur region.
Moreno-Ocampo told CNN shortly after filing his request with the court that he had evidence that revealed Saif al-Islam organized the recruitment of mercenaries to defend the regime and al-Sanussi participated in attacks on demonstrators.
Authorities believe Gadhafi ordered attacks on unarmed civilians, he told CNN, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."
Libya did not sign the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court and has indicated it would ignore the prosecution move.
The international court prosecutor began investigating claims against Gadhafi on February 15, when demonstrations against leader's regime accelerated. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as Gadhafi has tried to keep a firm grip on power.
The probe took investigators to 11 countries and included the review of 1,200 documents and interviews with about 50 witnesses. A report issued in early May found the alleged crimes against humanity include the alleged commission of rape by supporters of Gadhafi's government, as well as the deportation or forcible transfer of citizens during the civil war in the country.
Moreno-Ocampo has scheduled a press conference Tuesday to discuss the court's decision.
The issue of Libyan casualties led the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution in March authorizing force by whatever means necessary, with the exception of a ground invasion, to protect civilians. NATO began bombing military targets a short time later.
The court's decision Monday came as fighting raged between Gadhafi's troops and opposition forces just 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Tripoli in a see-saw battle that has brought the rebels to the doorstep of the Libyan leader's stronghold.
Casualty reports were not immediately available in the battle near the town of B'ir al Ghanam, though the majority of the fighting by both sides was being waged with heavy artillery, according to journalist David Adams, who witnessed much of it on Sunday.
NATO warplanes struck a rocket launcher system mounted on a government truck near the town, Adams said.
Three explosions were heard in the Libyan capital late Monday morning.
"They appear closer than those heard in the past few days and week," said CNN producer Raja Razek, who is in Tripoli.
The International Criminal Court action follows a day after the African Union announced Gadhafi will not be part of its next attempt to map out a peace deal in Libya.
It was unclear who would represent the Libyan government in negotiations, or when negotiations would occur. Journalists were not allowed to ask questions at a news conference following Sunday's meeting of the African Union's special committee on Libya in Pretoria, South Africa.
Members of the committee have met with Gadhafi and opposition leaders over the past three months. Another African Union-led attempt to broker peace between Gadhafi and the rebels fell through in April.
The committee repeated calls Sunday for a cease-fire between the Libyan government and rebels.
"Only a political solution will make it possible to sustainably settle the current conflict," the statement said.

It also urged NATO to temporarily suspend its bombing campaign to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

"A consistent modus operandi"

Beginning on February 15, when demonstrations first broke out, and continuing until at least February 28, Monageng said, Libya's security and military forces killed or imprisoned hundreds of perceived dissidents in Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi, along with a number of other cities.

Those security forces followed "a consistent modus operandi ... an attack against the civilian population," she said.

Gaddafi had "absolute and unquestioned control over the Libyan state apparatus of power," while Saif al-Islam - his second-oldest son and "unspoken successor" - functioned as a "de factor prime minister" and controlled the state's finances and logistics, she said.

Abdullah Senussi, meanwhile, "exercised his role as the national head of military intelligence, one of the most powerful and efficient organs of repression," Monageng said.

She said that Senussi personally commanded regime forces and ordered them to attack civilians during the fighting in Benghazi, which lasted between February 15 and 27 and ended when the local military base known as the Katiba fell into anti-government hands. Senussi and some of his men were reportedly allowed to escape after negotiating with troops who had defected to the protesters' side.

Gaddafi staying put

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC's chief prosecutor, submitted a 74-page dossier of evidence to the panel on May 16, requesting arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his second-eldest son, Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi. 

The Court's decision coincides with the 100th day of NATO operations in Libya. International military intervention succeeded in turning back Gaddafi's advance on rebel-held cities, but opposition forces have made few advances since air strikes began on March 19.

Gaddafi has refused calls to step aside and has issued defiant video and audio messages from undisclosed locations, calling the intervention a "crusade" against his country and an attempt by the West to recolonise Libya. He is believed to still be in Libya, along with Saif al-Islam and Abdullah Senussi.

Ocampo had sought indictments for all three on charges of crimes against humanity. He alleged that the three met and planned a brutal crackdown against protesters who took to Libya's streets in mid-February, emboldened by uprisings in nearby neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.

Gaddafi and Senussi personally issued orders to attack protesters, and Saif al-Islam helped organise the recruitment of mercenaries to put down what became an armed rebellion based out of the country's east, Ocampo said.

Security forces and mercenaries attacked civilians in their homes, used heavy weaponry on funeral processions, and set up snipers to shoot at worshippers leaving mosques, he said. 

Ability to enforce warrant is unclear

Ocampo's investigation focused on incidents in Benghazi, Misurata and Tripoli from February 15-20. Benghazi successfully overthrew government control in mid-February, while Misurata held out against an oftentimes indiscriminate attack by regime troops for months, only breaking out of its siege in May.

Gaddafi's security forces successfully stifled dissent in Tripoli, the capital, but unrest in the form of enormous petrol-line queues, sporadic demonstrations and occasional night-time assassinations has begun to grow.

Thousands have so far died in the fighting, while around 650,000 others have fled the country. Another 243,000 Libyans have been displaced internally, according to figures from the United Nations.

The UN Security Council referred the Libyan conflict to the ICC on February 26, and Ocampo launched his investigation five days later.

It's unclear what practical effect the arrest warrant will have on the three men. Gaddafi has made no public indication he is willing to give up power, and the warrant against Bashir seems to have little chance of being enforced: Bashir has travelled to Qatar, Chad and Egypt without incident.   

Source: CNN/Agencies