The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor sought an arrest warrant for Libyan Muammar Gaddafi, as NATO resumed airstrikes in the capital Tripoli.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor sought an arrest warrant for Libyan Muammar Gaddafi, as NATO resumed airstrikes in the capital Tripoli.

Meanwhile, NATO renewed airstrikes in Tripoli, with two explosions were heard overnight Tuesday in the Bab Al-Aziziya area where Gaddafi’s residence is located.
A column of white smoke could be seen rising from the area after two explosions at about 1:30 am (1130 GMT Monday) and ambulance sirens could be heard, AFP news agency reported.

NATO-led aircraft meanwhile launched fresh raids on an outlying suburb of Tripoli, destroying a radar base, the state news agency JANA and residents said.

A day after Gaddafi’s regime offered truce in return for a halt to NATO-led air strikes, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said warrants were sought for one of Gaddaf's sons, Seif al-Islam, and intelligence head Abdullah Senussi for crimes against humanity.

"Today, the office of the prosecutor requested the International Criminal Court arrest warrants," Moreno-Ocampo told a news conference in The Hague, where the court is based.
The Argentine prosecutor said there was evidence "that Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered attacks on innocent Libyan civilians".

A panel of ICC judges will now decide whether to accept or reject the prosecutor's application.

On Sunday, Gaddafi’s Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi offered a truce to UN special envoy, Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, in return for an immediate NATO ceasefire.
Mahmudi said after meeting Khatib that Libya wants "an immediate ceasefire to coincide with a stop to the NATO bombardment and the acceptance of international observers," the official Libyan news agency JANA reported.

INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
On the other hand, Libyan opposition, US and Britain hailed ICC’s move, asking for more pressure on Gaddafi.

Opposition welcomed the move, but said that Gaddafi ought to be tried in Libya first.   
"The National Transitional Council welcomes the decision of chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to request an arrest warrant," the rebel administration's vice president, Abdel Hafez Ghoga, said.
"We would like him to be tried in Libya first before being put on trial in an international court," he added.

An ex-US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, David Scheffer, hailed ICC’s move as saying: "NATO doubtless will appreciate the ICC investigation and indictment of top Libyan leaders, including Gaddafi.”
Scheffer also argued that the move might increase pressure on Gaddafi to think about finding refuge in a country that has not agreed to ICC jurisdiction.

For his Part, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on the international community to "fully support" the ICC.
"I welcome this announcement. The human rights situation in western Libya and the behavior of the Gaddafi regime remains of grave concern," Hague said.