International court issues arrest warrant for Gaddafi (Reuters)

THE HAGUE/TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Monday for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and rebels trying to oust him said their forces had advanced to within 80 km (50 miles) of the capital.

The court approved warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity. ICC prosecutors allege they were involved in the killing of civilian protesters who rose up in February against Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

"To prevent them covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes, they should be arrested. This is the only way to protect civilians in Libya," said ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who had sought the arrest warrants.

The ruling is unlikely to lead to Gaddafi's arrest as long he remains in power and inside Libya, because the court does not have the power to enforce its warrants.

Celebrations erupted in the rebel-held city of Benghazi, in eastern Libya, after the ICC ruling. People honked their car horns, waved flags, fired shots into the air and flashed victory signs in the street.

The ICC decision invalidated any notion of having negotiations with Gaddafi, insurgent officials said.

Gaddafi's government denies targeting civilians, saying it took action against armed criminal gangs and al Qaeda militants. It says NATO should be prosecuted instead for killing civilians with its bombing campaign.

Anti-Gaddafi rebels, based in the Western Mountains region southwest of Tripoli, made their biggest breakthrough in weeks to reach the town of Bir al-Ghanam, where they are now fighting pro-Gaddafi forces for control, their spokesman said.

The advance took them about 30 km (18 miles) north from their previous position and closer to Tripoli, Gaddafi's biggest power base.

A senior United Nations official said the war on the ground was started to shift in favor of the insurgents, who for weeks have been bogged down in battles with Gaddafi's forces.

"While we do not have a detailed understanding of the military situation on the ground, it is clear that the initiative, although halting, is now with the opposition forces, supported at times by NATO air power," the U.N. under secretary-general for political affairs, Lynn Pascoe, told the U.N. Security Council.

BLOODY REVOLT

The rebels -- backed by NATO air support -- have been battling Gaddafi's forces since late February, when thousands of people rebelled, prompting a fierce crackdown by Gaddafi's security forces.

The revolt has turned into the bloodiest of the Arab Spring revolts against autocratic rulers rippling across the Middle East.

"We are on the southern and western outskirts of Bir al-Ghanam," Juma Ibrahim, a rebel spokesman in the nearby town of Zintan, said by telephone.

"There were battles there most of yesterday. Some of our fighters were martyred and they (government forces) also suffered casualties and we captured equipment and vehicles. It's quiet there today and the rebels are still in their positions."

A Reuters reporter in the center of Tripoli heard at least two loud explosions on Monday coming from the direction of Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound, repeatedly targeted by NATO.

Later, government officials took reporters to the compound. They showed them a burned-out bus which, they said, belonged to Gaddafi and had been hit by two NATO missiles.

ISOLATION

Gaddafi is the second sitting head of state to have an ICC arrest warrant issued against him. The previous one was Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Securing arrests, however, has proven difficult for the ICC, which has no police force and relies on member states to enforce arrest orders. Some states have refused to arrest Bashir, who is still able to travel to friendly states.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the court's ruling reinforced the reasons for the alliance's bombing campaign and deepened Gaddafi's isolation.

"(Gaddafi) and his henchmen need to realize that time is rapidly running out for them," Rasmussen said in a statement.

"NATO is more determined than ever to keep up the pressure until all attacks on civilians have ended, until all regime forces have returned to their bases and until there is unhindered access to humanitarian aid."

Reading out the ruling at the court in The Hague, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said Gaddafi has "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over Libya's state apparatus and security forces.

She said both Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam "conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations" against the regime and that al-Senussi used his position of command to have attacks carried out.

Gaddafi's administration made no immediate comment on the ICC ruling. Speaking on Sunday, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the court was guilty of double standards and was following a Western political agenda.

"The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever," Ibrahim told reporters.

In Benghazi, in eastern Libya, the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said the arrest warrants rendered any attempt at peace talks with Gaddafi pointless.

"After this warrant, it is all irrelevant. We cannot negotiate with war criminals," NTC spokesman Jalal al-Galal told Reuters. "The world has confirmed what we have been saying all along. He's a war criminal, and he should be tried for it."

"We are extremely happy that the whole world has united in prosecuting Gaddafi for the crimes he has committed," Galal said. "The people feel vindicated by such a response."

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the council chairman, urged Gaddafi's aides and supporters to abandon him, saying those who help him escape justice will end up sharing his punishment. "It is time to abandon Gaddafi to spare themselves," he added.

In neighboring Tunisia, three Libyan ministers, including the foreign minister, were holding talks with "foreign parties," the Tunisian state news agency reported, in a possible sign some in Gaddafi's circle were seeking a settlement.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Tarek Amara in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Maria Golovnina in Benghazi, Sherine El Madany in Cairo, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations and David Brunnstrom in Brussels; writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Court issues arrest warrant for Libyan leader Gadhafi

(CNN) -- The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Monday for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two of his relatives.

ICC Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng read aloud the decision to issue warrants for Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi is a close adviser to his father. His arrest warrant came two days after his 39th birthday. Al-Sanussi serves as Gadhafi's head of intelligence.

The warrants are "for crimes against humanity," including murder and persecution, "allegedly committed across Libya" from Feb. 15 through "at least" Feb. 28, "through the state apparatus and security forces," the court said in a news release.

In Misrata, a critical city for Libyan rebels in which fighting has raged, a crowd cheered Monday following the news from the court.

The announcement at The Hague came as fighting inside Libya inched closer to the capital. A rebel fighter, Hassan al-Jiwali, told CNN the rebels were 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Tripoli on Monday.

Libya is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the international court's authority, and the court does not have the power to enter Libya and arrest the leaders. Many of those cheering in Misrata saw the news as a sign that the world recognizes the conduct rebels say Gadhafi's regime has been engaged in.

The three-judge Pre-Trial Chamber I at The Hague found "reasonable grounds to believe that the three suspects committed the alleged crimes and that their arrests appear necessary in order to ensure their appearances before the court," the written announcement said. The court also believes the warrants are needed to ensure that the three "do not continue to obstruct and endanger the court's investigations; and to prevent them from using their powers to continue the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court."

The U.N. Security Council referred the matter to the ICC through a resolution Feb. 26, following widespread complaints about Gadhafi's efforts to crush a rebellion. The resolution said that while "states not party to the Rome Statute have no obligations under the statute, the Security Council urged all states and concerned regional and other international organisations to cooperate fully with the court and the prosecutor."

Gadhafi has made clear he would not recognize the court's authority.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he has evidence linking Gadhafi, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and Abdullah al-Sanussi to crimes against humanity, including "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians, in their attempt to put down the months-long revolt.

Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim has previously denied the allegations and criticized what he said were incoherent conclusions of the prosecutor's office.

The United Nations issued a statement Monday about the arrest warrants, noting that "hundreds of people are confirmed to have been killed since opposition forces rose up against the regime of Mr. Gadhafi in February as part of a wider pro-democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East."

The European Union said it "fully supports" the court and underscores that the court's Libya investigation "is an independent judicial process which must be fully respected."

Not everyone was cheering the news. Michael Rubin, an analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the court's move could damage efforts to get Gadhafi to end his 42-year reign, because he would not seek refuge in a country that is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

"The ICC's arrest warrant symbolizes the dirty underside of international law," Rubin said. "While the ICC makes itself feel good and diplomats can chatter about their commitment to international law, the fact of the matter is their action takes off the table any possibility that Gadhafi could flee to a retirement haven outside Libya. In effect, the ICC arrest warrant tells Gadhafi to fight to the death."

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 Gadhafi organized the recruitment of mercenaries to defend the regime and al-Sanussi participated in attacks on demonstrators.

Authorities believe Moammar Gadhafi ordered attacks on unarmed civilians, he told CNN, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."

Moreno-Ocampo began investigating claims against Moammar Gadhafi on February 15, when demonstrations against the leader's regime accelerated. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as Moammar Gadhafi has tried to keep his 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 news 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.

A rebel military leader, Hajj Osama al-Jiwali, told CNN Monday that rebels want "more airstrikes and hits of Ghadafi strategic locations for the wake of time and for the the rebuilding of Libya." He called on the United Nations to be "at the forefront" of efforts in Libya.

Al-Jiwali said rebel fighters on Sunday fought "a very fierce battle against the Gadhafi forces in Beir al-Ghanam, where four rebel fighters died and eight were injured, and more than 30 of the Gadhafi forces have been killed." The battle was still ongoing Monday, but not as fierce, he said.

CNN could not independently confirm the reports.

"The rebel forces are in high sprits and determined to continue to Tripoli to get rid of Gadhafi and his collaborators. They are in high spirits and the victory is closer than ever, " al-Jiwali added.

NATO warplanes struck a rocket launcher system mounted on a government truck near the town of B'ir al Ghanam.

Three explosions could be 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 comes 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.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse, Yousuf Basil and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

CNN

ICC requests arrest warrant for Gadhafi

The Hague, Netherlands (CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday requested arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son and his brother-in-law, saying there is evidence Gadhafi has committed crimes against humanity in his efforts to maintain hold over the country in a months-long battle.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said his office "gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Moammar Gadhafi himself, direct evidence of Saif al-Islam (Gadhafi) organizing the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of the participation of (Abdullah) al-Sanussi in the attacks against demonstrators." Al-Sanussi, the brother-in-law, is Gadhafi's head of intelligence and chief enforcer.

"The evidence shows that civilians were attacked in their homes; demonstrations were repressed using live ammunition; heavy artillery was used against participants in funeral processions, and snipers placed to kill those leaving the mosques after the prayers," Moreno-Ocampo said.

"The evidence shows that persecution is still ongoing in the areas under Gadhafi control," he said. "Gadhafi's forces prepare lists with names of alleged dissidents. They are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear."

Authorities believe Gadhafi "personally ordered" attacks on unarmed civilians, he said, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."

Gadhafi has "absolute authority" in Libya, Moreno-Ocampo told reporters. "... It's a crime to challenge Gadhafi's authority and he used his authority to commit the crimes."

Gadhafi and his inner circle plotted to suppress any challenge to his authority, the statement said.

It was the first time the International Criminal Court has taken action while a conflict was ongoing. It is the culmination of an investigation that began February 15, when demonstrations against Gadhafi's regime accelerated. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as the strongman has tried to stay firm on his grip on power.

"Gadhafi ruled Libya through fear," Moreno-Ocampo said Monday, "and I think Libyans are losing that fear."

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim on Sunday dismissed a possible ICC action, saying that because Libya is not a signatory of the Rome Statute -- which established the ICC -- the government will "just ignore it."

The investigation took investigators to 11 countries and included the review of 1,200 documents and interviews with about 50 witnesses.

Moreno-Ocampo has to present all his evidence to a panel of judges before the court in The Hague can decide whether to issue arrest warrants. The panel can reject his request, accept it or ask for more evidence, he said.

A report issued earlier this month by Moreno-Ocampo said the alleged crimes against humanity include the alleged commission of rape by Gadhafi's government, as well as the deportation or forcible transfer of citizens during the civil war in the country.

"It is indeed a characteristic of the situation in Libya that massive crimes are reportedly committed upon instruction of a few persons who control the organizations that execute the orders," the report said. "Arresting those who ordered the commission of crimes, should the judges decide to issue warrants, will contribute to the protection of citizens in Libya."

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Congress Questions Handling of Awlaki Case After Fox News Report on Dropped Arrest Warrant

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An investigation by the Fox News Specials Unit revealed that the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks was likely never told by the FBI about an arrest warrant filed and then dropped against American-born radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki

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