The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said on Tuesday it could be "game over" within months for Muammar Qadhafi, but China reacted cautiously to the issuing of an arrest warrant for the Libyan leader on charges of crimes against humanity.
"Today, it is time for arrests," ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters in The Hague, a day after the ICC approved warrants for Qadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi. "It is a matter of time ... Qadhafi will face charges. The arrest warrants are not going away."
He added: "I don't think we will have to wait for long...In two or three months it is game over." Prosecutors allege the three men were involved in the killing of civilian protesters who rose up in February against Qadhafi's 41-year rule. Rebels have pushed to within 80 km (50 miles) of the capital Tripoli.
China stopped short of condemning or endorsing the court's action. "China hopes the ICC can prudently, justly and objectively carry out its duties, and ensure that its relevant work genuinely aids regional peace and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said when asked about the warrants.
China has denounced the ICC's war crimes indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is currently on a state visit in Beijing. He and Qadhafi are the only sitting heads of state facing warrants from the court. Beijing generally avoids entangling itself in the domestic affairs of other nations and has been sceptical about the Nato military operation to shore up rebels fighting Qadhafi.
But Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told Libyan rebel leaders last week that they had become an "important domestic political force" in the country. Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the ICC arrest warrants demonstrated why Nato - which has been riven by disputes over a costly operation that has dragged on longer than some foresaw - must continue until it fulfils its UN mandate.
"The arrest warrants are yet another signal from the international community to the Qadhafi regime: 'Your place is on trial, not in power in Tripoli'," she told a press briefing. But she added it was not up to Nato to enforce the warrant. Bulgaria and Croatia added their names on Tuesday to the list of now 21 countries who have recognised the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), based in Benghazi in east Libya, as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
Anti-Qadhafi rebels based in the Western Mountains region south-west of Tripoli made their biggest breakthrough in weeks on Sunday to reach the town of Bir al-Ghanam, where they are now fighting pro-Qadhafi forces for control, their spokesman said. The move took them 30 km (18 miles) north of their previous position and closer to Tripoli, Qadhafi's main power base.
A rebel spokesman said there had been further fighting on Monday. "Fighting broke out yesterday evening in Bir Ayad and Bir al-Ghanem. The (government) brigades used Grad rockets. The fighting stopped later after strikes by Nato," he said.
"The brigades bombarded Nalut last night... The humanitarian situation is still the same. We are without electricity and water." A rebel spokesman in Misrata said Qadhafi's forces struck at the Mediterranean coastal city some 200 km (125 miles) east of Tripoli overnight. "Qadhafi's forces bombarded Misrata last night. There were no casualties, thank God. Today the situation is quiet for the moment," said the spokesman, who gave his name as Youssef.
The revolt has turned into the bloodiest of the Arab Spring uprisings against autocratic rulers across the Middle East, turning into a civil war as rebels backed by Western and Arab countries took control of eastern Libya. In the district of Nalut by the Tunisian border, rebels said on Monday that power and water infrastructure had been hit by pro-Qadhafi bombing. The ICC warrant is unlikely to lead to Qadhafi's arrest as long he remains in power and inside Libya, because the court does not have the power to enforce such orders. Celebrations erupted in the rebel-held city of Benghazi, in eastern Libya, after the ICC's decision. Insurgent officials said the move meant negotiations with Qadhafi were impossible.