Nato-led forces bombed civilian and military targets in Tripoli and nearby Qasr Bin Ghashir causing "material and human damage", state-run Libyan television said on Monday. The written news flash quoted a military source but gave no further details. Loud explosions could be heard in central Tripoli on Monday evening. Earlier, a war crimes prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant for Muammar Qadhafi accusing him of killing protesters against his 41-year rule.
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 Qadhafi's son Saif al-Islam and his spy chief brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi. In the uprising, civilians were attacked at home, protests were supressed using live ammunition, heavy artillery was used against funeral processions and snipers deployed to kill people leaving mosques after prayers, the prosecutor said.
"We have strong evidence, so strong evidence," Moreno-Ocampo said, adding: "We are almost ready for trial ... Qadhafi ruled Libya through fear and Libyans are losing that fear now." The prosecutor's office had received calls from senior officials in the Qadhafi government in the past week to provide information. Prosecutors spoke with eyewitnesses to attacks and assessed evidence from 1,200 documents, plus videos and photos.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in the North African oil-producing desert state, the bloodiest of the revolts which have convulsed the Middle East in what has been called the "Arab Spring". Nato, which has been hitting targets in Libya for nearly two months, appeared to step up its bombing campaign on Monday 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 the removal of Qadhafi to exile to make way for a new government and a Libyan government delegation was expected in Moscow on Tuesday. Libyan officials have denied killing civilians, saying instead they were forced to take action against criminal armed gangs and al Qaeda militants. They say a Nato bombing campaign is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's oil.
Moreno-Ocampo said persecution was still taking place in areas under Qadhafi control with forces arresting, imprisoning and torturing alleged dissidents. Some people had disappeared. Prosecutors are also investigating reports of mass rapes, war crimes committed by different parties and attacks against sub-Saharan Africans wrongly seen as mercenaries once the Libyan situation developed into an armed conflict. 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.
Libyan officials have already denounced the ICC prosecutor's action, saying the court is a creation of the West for prosecuting African leaders. 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. "Qadhafi hasn't stopped killing our brothers in all areas across Libya."