Tripoli rejects ICC arrest warrant for Gaddafi

Libya has rejected a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Col Muammar Gaddafi, saying the tribunal has no authority, BBC reported.

Libya's justice minister said Libya did not accept the ICC's decision to call for Col Gaddafi's arrest.

Mohammad al-Qamoodi told a Tripoli news conference the court was "a tool of the Western world to prosecute leaders in the third world.”

He added: "The leader of the revolution and his son do not hold any official position in the Libyan government and therefore they have no connection to the claims of the ICC against them."

The ICC earlier accused the Libyan leader of crimes against humanity.

The court had grounds to believe he had ordered attacks on civilians during Libya's four-month uprising, it said.

The Hague-based court also issued warrants for two of Col Gaddafi's top aides - his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.