US Vows Sanctions As World Rounds On Libya

Some thoughts came to mind last night as to whether Obama was right to go it alone or should he should have waited until the UN passed a number of resolutions or is the US up to its own tricks again.

On the face of it there is not doubt that we have to buy and sell to dictators and all govts have to work with dictators whether we like or not. Tony Blair, and associations went to Libya to get the oil contacts all went head on in. In my opinion

The US has announced it is to impose sanctions on Libya and cut diplomatic ties as heads of state pledged to bring those responsible for atrocities there to justice.

Spokesman Jay Carney said the White House was finalising the process, working with European partners on additional sanctions and deciding whether to enforce a no-fly zone.

Sky News correspondents in the east of the country have found evidence that weapons including rocket-propelled grenades, sniper rifles and anti-aircraft weapons have been used on protesters against dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi.

Casualty figures are impossible to substantiate but the UN's high commissioner for human rights said they could run into thousands.

More deaths were reported in the capital, Tripoli, as the beleaguered Colonel Gaddafi made a public appearance urging his supporters to fight for him.

In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolved to call for an independent international inquiry into abuses perpetrated by the Libyan goverment and to call on the UN General Assembly to consider suspending Libya from its seat on the HRC.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told Sky News it supported the resolution.

"Our biggest fear is the targeting of civilians and the heavy toll in terms of casualties, fatalities, injured people... the numbers are varying and the information thus far has been very sketchy," he said.

"We don't know exactly what the extent of this is but what's been reported has been horrendous so far and our position on this has been very clear. So our biggest fear; what's happening to the civilian population.

"It's our view that civilians have the right to demonstrate and to express their opinions freely and we're just monitoring the situation very closely."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon demanded an end to the violence and said an international consensus was building to take action following reports of attacks on protesters and innocent civilians, including women and children.

"It is time for the UN Security Council to consider concrete action," he said.

"Let us be mindful of the urgency of the moment... the loss of time (will mean) the loss of life."

France and Britain's joint UN resolution will also ask the International Criminal Court to indict Colonel Gaddafi for crimes against humanity.

The ICC prosecutor has previously said the court could not intervene because Libya does not accept the court's jurisdiction.

The UN security council can, however, refer the situation to the court.

One way or another, just like Mubarak, he's finished. He just hasn't gone yet.

Sky News foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall on Gaddafi

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "On Monday, I will be attending the HRC in Geneva. I will be meeting with other Foreign Ministers including Secretary (Hillary) Clinton.

"We will continue to press for action on Libya as there have been gross and systematic human rights violations by the Libyan authorities that are utterly unacceptable and we condemn them absolutely."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron warned the Libyan regime "the world is watching you", and declined to rule out military action against the country.

People working for this regime should remember that international justice has a long reach and a long memory and they will be held to account for what they do.

David Cameron

He added the Government "will do everything it can" to get estimated 200 British nationals still stranded in Libya safely back home.

The US embassy in Libya has closed and its staff have departed on a charter flight for Istanbul, although sources at the State Department said operations there could resume "at any time".

Meanwhile, the Libyan ambassador's house in Washington DC there were scenes of celebration as the flag symbolising the Gaddafi regime was pulled down and pre-Gaddafi colours hoisted to the mast in its place.

The entire Libyan mission in Geneva has also quit in a public session, with the envoy telling the UN rights body that the diplomatic mission now served the Libyan people and their will.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has become the first leader to call for Colonel Gaddafi to go, and he warned of "investigations and sanctions" over crackdowns on protesters.

Nato's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has also called an emergency council meeting, adding further international pressure to Colonel Gaddafi.

"The situation in Libya is of great concern," he wrote on his Twitter account.

"Nato can act as an enabler and co-ordinator if and when member states take action."