The Hague/Tripoli: A war crimes prosecutor Monday sought an arrest warrant for Muammar Gaddafi accusing him of killing protesters demanding an end to his 41-year rule as Nato stepped up air strikes on Libyan forces.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, International Criminal Court prosecutor, also asked judges, who must now see if there is enough evidence to issue warrants, for the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saif Al Islam and his spy chief brother-in-law, Abdullah Al Senussi.
Nato, which has been hitting targets in Libya for nearly two months, appeared to step up its bombing campaign yesterday with strikes in several towns and cities including Tripoli, according to Libyan state television and rebels.
On the diplomatic front, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said the United Nations was working on pushing Gaddafi into exile to make way for a new government and a Libyan government delegation was expected in Moscow for discussions today.
Colonial aggression
Libyan officials have denied killing civilians, saying instead they were forced to take action against criminal armed gangs and Al Qaida militants. They say a Nato bombing campaign is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's oil.
Moreno-Ocampo signalled his action earlier this month when he said he would seek three arrests for the "pre-determined" killing of protesters in Libya after the UN Security Council referred the violence to the Hague-based court in February.
Rebels welcomed the prosecutor's move.
"We have been impatiently waiting for such a decision. It is an important decision," said Belkacem, a rebel spokesman in the besieged city of Misrata. "Gaddafi hasn't stopped killing our brothers in all areas across Libya."
"The request for these warrants is a reminder to all in Gaddafi's regime that crimes will not go unpunished and the reach of international justice will be long," British foreign secretary William Hague said.
