AL-UQAYLA, Libya – Libyan rebels pushed west yesterday, extending their grip on a key coast road as Muammar Gadafy received a warning that he would be held to account at The Hague for suspected crimes by his security forces.
Venezuela meanwhile said the Libyan leader had agreed to its proposal for an international commission to negotiate an end to the turmoil in the world’s 12th largest oil exporting nation.
But Col Gadafy’s son, Saif al Islam, said there was no need for any foreign mediation in the crisis, a leader of the uprising rejected talks with the veteran leader, and the Arab League said cautiously the plan was only “under consideration”.
The uprising, the bloodiest yet against a long-serving ruler in the Middle East or North Africa, has torn through the Opec-member country and knocked out nearly 50 per cent of its 1.6 million barrels per day output, the bedrock of its economy.
In eastern Libya, witnesses said a warplane bombed Brega, the oil terminal town 800 km east of Tripoli, for the second day, part of a struggle for control of a strategically vital coast road and oil industry facilities.
Warplanes also launched two raids against the nearby rebel-held town of Ajbadiya, witnesses said.
In The Hague, International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Col Gadafy and members of his inner circle, could be investigated for alleged crimes committed since the uprising broke out in February.
“We have identified some individuals in the de facto or former authority who have authority over the security forces who allegedly committed the crimes,” Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
“They are Muammar Gadafy, his inner circle, including some of his sons, who had this de facto authority. There are also some people with formal authority who should pay attention to crimes committed by their people,” Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told BBC radio the news from The Hague was “close to a joke”.
A spokesman for Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, a Gadafy ally, said the Libyan government had accepted a Venezuelan plan to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict in Libya.
Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa said the plan was under consideration and he was waiting for details from Caracas.
Mr Chávez’s plan would involve a commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East trying to reach a negotiated outcome between the Libyan leader and rebel forces.
An aide to Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebels’ National Libyan Council, the rebels were open to talks only on Gaddafis resignation or exile to avoid more bloodshed. “There is nothing else to negotiate,” he said.
Save The Children and Médecins Sans Frontières said they were struggling to get medicine and care to Libyas needy, with gunmen blocking roads and civilians too scared to seek help.
The government has tried to persuade people in Tripoli that life continues as normal. But there were queues at banks, and residents said food prices had gone up and the street value of the Libyan dinar had fallen dramatically against the dollar.
In Benghazi meanwhile, men of all ages gathered next to the courthouse engaged in fierce debates, enjoying their new-found freedom of speech.
Three Dutch marines were still being detained in Libya last night after they were captured by forces loyal to Col Gadafy while trying to rescue two Europeans. The marines were captured on Sunday by armed men after they had gone ashore at Sirte. – (Reuters)