08:23
societynews[dot] org
The Hague (AFP)-the International Criminal Court will rule Monday on whether to issue an arrest warrant for the leader Muammar Kadhafi for crimes against humanity, as the rebels and regime forces clashed on the road to Tripoli.
The decision of the Hague-based International Criminal Court comes the 100th day of NATO's operations in Libya, with airstrikes have eased the siege of the city key rebel.
Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng is expected to read the decision of the bench of three judges to 01:00 pm (1100 GMT) on request by the Prosecutor of the Court to have the Libyan strongman and two of his closest allies who were arrested.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked mandates for Kadhafi, 69, his son Seif al-Islam, 39, and the head of Libyan intelligence, Abdullah al-senussi, 62, for murder and persecution by the revolt began in February.
All three are charged for their roles in the Suppression of the revolt, in which civilians were killed and persecuted by Libyan forces, particularly in Tripoli, Benghazi and Libyan city Misrata, the Prosecutor said.
As the court proceedings have moved forward in the Hague, the fighting has raged between Kadhafi's troops and rebel forces near Tripoli.
Multiple rocket and heavy machine-gunfire was heard on the Plains below the rebel enclave on Nafusa mountains, southwest of Tripoli Sunday.
Rebel commanders said that the fighting centered on Bir al-Ghanam, a strategic point along the road to the Libyan capital.
Meanwhile, the African Union Panel on the meeting of the South African capital Pretoria in Libya said Kadhafi would not participate in peace talks, in what appeared to be a concession.
The Panel welcomes acceptance of Colonel Kadhafi to not be part of the process of negotiations, "the AU peace and security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said, reading a prepared statement released after four hours of talks.
A South African official, part of a team that travelled to Tripoli last month in a failed attempt to start peace talks, said that the latest developments indicate that Kadhafi is on its way out.
"This means that it is finished," he said.
On Saturday, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice President of the National Transitional Council (NTC) said they had been in contact with the Loyalists over the possibility of Kadhafi formulate confinement.
Meanwhile three Libyan Government Ministers were in Tunisia for talks with international partners on efforts to stop the conflict in their country, the official news agency TAP reported on Tunisia Monday.
Said Mohammed Hijazi, Minister of health and Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Sherif arrived Sunday in the tourist resort of Djerba, Tunisia, where the talks were in progress.
Joined Foreign Minister Abdelati al-Obeidi, who was in Tunisia since last Wednesday and was "in talks with several foreign parties," TAP said without giving further details.
A senior official representing the rebels of Libya said it expected to receive an offer from Kadhafi "very soon" that could put an end to the four-month war.
Ghoga said brokers had indicated that a proposal by Libyan strongman was in the works.
Thousands dead in the fighting so far is, while the other approximately 650,000 left the country. Another 243,000 Libyans were displaced internally, according to the United Nations.
The Hague will decide whether the ICC judges to issue arrest warrants, to deny the request or request more information before giving the nod.
Sunday, the ICC Prosecutor has said that war crimes will not stop in Libya until Kadhafi is arrested.
"Crimes continue today in Libya. To stop the crimes and protect civilians in Libya, Kadhafi must be arrested, "he said in a statement.
Three months after French jets flew over eastern Libya, their first missions NATO is still pounding targets around the country in what has become a war fought on many fronts, but with few clear victories for both sides.
As "unified Operation protector" approaches its sortie 5000 strike, NATO is still hitting targets approximately 50 per day, mostly in or around Tripoli and Libyan city Misrata in the West; Brega in the East; and on Nafusa mountains south of the capital.
But the initial success of the Alliance to push Kadhafi external forces of Benghazi and Libyan city Misrata have not yet clearly tip the scales in favor of the rebels.
An uneasy standoff has taken hold, with rebel fighters told to hold their positions around city Misrata and Brega in Brega, despite rocket attack causing victims or occasional Malta.
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment