The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Monday for Muammar Gaddafi,his son Seif,and his intelligence chief for crimes against humanity.
Judges announced that the three men are wanted for orchestrating the killing,injuring,arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple Gaddafi from power,and for trying to cover up this up.
The warrants turn Gaddafi,son Seif al-Islam Gaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi into internationally wanted suspects,potentially complicating efforts to mediate an end to more than four months of intense fighting in the North African nation.
Presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana said Monday there were reasonable grounds to believe that Gaddafi and his son are both criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators for the murder of civilians.
Libyan officials rejected the courts authority,claiming the court had unfairly targeted Africans while ignoring crimes by NATO in Afghanistan,Iraq and in Libya now.