Gaddafi, son for trial as 42-year-old regime crumbles .

AS the 42-year-old regime of Muammar Gaddafi totters towards end, the International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday said it has begun move to ensure prosecution of the Libyan leader and one of his sons, Saif al-Islam, on charges of war crimes.

A report by Reuters quoted the ICC as saying that it was in talks with the Libyan rebels about the potential transfer of Saif al-Islam to the war crimes court in The Hague. “We are in discussions with the Libyan council about the surrender of Saif al-Islam,” ICC official Fadi el-Abdallah said. “It is simply too early to talk about details of those discussions or time-frames. The situation is not fully clear or stable in Tripoli so that might take some time.”

Abdallah, who is the spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit at the International Court, said the court was also seeking arrest of Gaddafi and the head of the Libyan intelligence service, Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli yesterday after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Gaddafi’s 42 years in power.

The 69-year-old Gaddafi, urging civilians to take up arms against rebel “rats”, said in an audio broadcast that he was in the city and would be “with you until the end”. But there was little sign of popular opposition to the rebel offensive, two of Gaddafi’s sons were seized and it was unclear where he was.