Wednesday 4 May 2011

Gadhafi War Crimes Probe Prosecutor To Report Findings


The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will release details Wednesday of his investigation into whether Moammar Gadhafi's government committed crimes against humanity in the civil war raging in Libya.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will be in New York to update the U.N. Security Council on the investigation, the ICC said in a statement.

In March, shortly after the International Criminal Court was asked to investigate the issue, a court spokeswoman said Gadhafi would probably face serious charges.

Moreno-Ocampo said he had uncovered "strong evidence" against some people in Libya and that he planned to issue arrest warrants soon.

But Moreno-Ocampo did not name the people he said he had evidence on.

"Even today, people in Tripoli are arrested illegally, tortured and they disappear," Moreno-Ocampo told CNN. "We have evidence of that and we will show it to the judges."

And as the bloody battles in the North African country dragged into their fourth month, a U.N. official said the Libyan government and opposition members were trying to find a way for a cease-fire.

Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, the U.N.'s special envoy to Libya, said both sides had told him that they were ready for a cease-fire. The only problem was that the two sides disagreed on what conditions would be needed to lay down arms, the envoy said.

The Libyan government wants an end to NATO aerial attacks; the opposition wants Gadhafi to step down and will not negotiate with him or any of his family members, Al-Khatib said.

"A real and credible cease-fire must be agreed upon to suspend aggressive actions and killing of innocent civilians, including women and children," al-Khatib told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. "A ceasefire must be declared either formally, or -- in a first step -- as part of an informal understanding between the opposing forces in Libya."

NATO began bombing Libya on March 19, after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution authorizing any means necessary, short of invasion, to protect civilians demanding the end of Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule.

This weekend Libyan authorities said one of Gadhafi's sons and three of his grandchildren were killed by a NATO airstrike.

This prompted an increase in pro-Gadhafi forces' attacks in rebel-held cities and also in the beleaguered western port city of Misrata, witnesses said.

Also an explosion rocked Benghazi Tuesday, the eastern city that is controlled by rebel fighters. The explosion damaged several cars in Benghazi's main square and a rebel spokesman blamed it on Gadhafi supporters who were somehow able to infiltrate the rebel-held city.

CNN could not independently confirm that report.

The continued fighting has sent people fleeing.

More than 8,000 people -- most of them women and children -- fled into Tunisia over the weekend to escape fighting between Libyan government troops and opposition forces, the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees said Tuesday

Nearly 40,000 Libyans have fled the country's western mountainous region in the past month as pro-Gadhafi and opposition forces have fought for control of the border crossing point, according to the U.N.

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