ICC issues arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Monday for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as well as his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.

Gaddafi has "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over Libya's state apparatus and its security forces, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said in reading out the ruling. She added that both Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam "conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations" against the regime and that al-Senussi used his position of command to have attacks carried out.

Celebrations erupted in Benghazi after the ICC ruling. People honked their car horns, waved flags, fired shots into the air and flashed victory signs in the street

Gaddafi's administration had no immediate reaction to the ICC ruling. Speaking Sunday, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the court was guilty of double standards and followed a Western political agenda. "The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever," Ibrahim told reporters. "NATO has been committing crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya now. They have never even considered investigating the killing of many civilians in Iraq, many civilians in Afghanistan, many civilians in Libya."

In Benghazi, in eastern Libya, the opposition’s National Transitional Council (NTC) said the arrest warrants made any attempt at negotiating with Gaddafi irrelevant. "We are extremely happy that the whole world has united in prosecuting Gaddafi for the crimes he has committed," NTC spokesman Jalal al-Galal told Reuters. "It is premature to talk about any negotiation. After this warrant, it is all irrelevant. We cannot negotiate with war criminals. The world has confirmed what we have been saying all along. He's a war criminal, and he should be tried for it."