The International Criminal Court has Moammar Gadhafi in its sights, even as the embattled Libyan leader struggles to maintain his regime's control of the restive North African nation.
Empowered by an unprecedented, unanimous resolution from the United Nations Security Council, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Thursday that Gadhafi, some of his sons, army commanders and regime officials will all be investigated for possible crimes against humanity.
Vowing that there would be "no impunity in Libya," Moreno-Ocampo said Libyan officials should consider his statements as a warning that the court is putting them "on notice: if forces under their command commit crimes, they could be held criminally responsible."
The same goes for leaders of the rebel forces, he said.
"No one has the authority to attack and massacre civilians."
In addition to Gadhafi, who was the only individual identified by name, Moreno-Ocampo said the commander of the 32 battalion, the head of Gadhafi's personal security, the national security adviser, the director-general of the external security organization, the spokesman of the regime, the head of the security forces and the minister of foreign affairs would all be subject to investigation too.
"We are not saying who is responsible yet," he told reporters in The Hague on Thursday, suggesting it could be months before the court seeks arrest warrants. "Today is the start of the investigation."
Meanwhile, a Canadian military transport plane touched down in Malta Thursday, carrying another 31 evacuees fleeing the chaos in Libya.
A spokesman for the Canadian Forces' overseas command said 14 of the passengers aboard the CC-130J Hercules aircraft were Canadians and the rest were foreign nationals. Maj. Andre Salloum says the plane returned from Tripoli without incident.
In a separate operation, three Dutch commandos and their helicopter were captured during a botched rescue attempt in territory controlled by forces loyal to Gadhafi.
Rebels defend eastern oil port
Rebel forces were digging in Thursday around Brega's oil-port in eastern Libya, amid reports of new airstrikes on the town by government warplanes.
There were no reports of casualties after warplanes attacked the area Thursday morning, and The Associated Press said the exact target may have been an airstrip.
Considering the strategic significance of Brega's petrochemical complex, which is the second-largest petroleum and natural gas facility in Libya, the rebel militia bolstered by mutinous army units was establishing defensive positions around the installation on Thursday.
"We are in a position to control the area and we are deploying our forces," a rebel army officer in Brega told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Fighters armed with Kalashnikov rifles were backed by at least a dozen pickup trucks with bolted-on machine guns or rocket launchers.
Aside from the airstrike, however, there were no reports of pro-Gadhafi forces in the oil port more than 700 kilometres east of Tripoli.
"In the last 24 hours, we had a bit of a panic here," oil company employee Osman Rajab told the Associated Press. "Now they (the rebel army) are trying to control the industrial areas."
Brega, which is on the western edge of the rebel-controlled eastern half of Libya, was the site of a series of back-and-forth battles on Wednesday that began when a convoy of several hundred pro-Gadhafi forces entered the area shortly before dawn.
Their arrival was relatively unimpeded, and they easily took control of the oil port. But by the end of the day, the pro-Gadhafi forces fled 130 kilometres west under rebel fire.
Morgue officials in the nearby rebel-held town of Ajdabiya said 14 people died in the fighting.
"You know, this is my son," one grieving father told The Associated Press, as he identified the body. "They shot him by plane."
A 7-year-old boy was also among the dead, killed when he was caught in the crossfire.
The rebel forces are mainly volunteers with the most basic training. They are backed by army units that defected but there is no clear line of command. More men and weapons are on the way from the east, and there is talk among the rebels of launching their own offensive.
They have been fighting an assortment of militiamen, mercenaries and military units that make up Gadhafi's fighting force on the ground, and are calling for foreign intervention to stop attacks from the air.
In spite of ongoing international discussion of a no-fly zone over the North African country, the Pentagon has rebuffed the idea.
And in remarks to supporters and foreign journalists in the capital Tripoli Wednesday, Gadhafi made it clear he would not take kindly to such foreign involvement.
"We will distribute arms to two or three millions and we will turn Libya into another Vietnam," he said.
Refugee exodus
The uprising has already created a humanitarian crisis, as the United Nations estimates 180,000 people have fled to Libya's borders.
According to United Nations estimates, more than 77,000 have crossed into Egypt and between 80,000 and 90,000 have wound up in Tunisia.
Although another 30,000 people are still waiting to cross the border from Libya into Tunisia, CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Martin Seemungal said the situation there is calm.
"It's a pretty orderly movement at the moment," Seemungal told CTV News Channel in an interview from the Tunisian side of the border in Ras Adjir.
"As soon as they come through they get met by the Red Crescent or one of the United Nations agencies. They get processed, they get some water, some high energy biscuits or other food and then they're dispatched to other places."
UN officials nevertheless say the continuing flow of human traffic -- consisting largely of foreign workers from poor Asian and African nations whose governments have been unable or unwilling to send help -- is causing a logistical nightmare.
On Thursday night, the Tunisian army announced the transit camp had been filled to capacity, and new arrivals were now being held just inside the Libyan border.
Britain, France, Spain and Tunisia have promised to send planes to airlift stranded refugees, while Italy has pledged supplies, food and medical assistance to set up a camp there.
With files from The Associated Press
