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| World leaders and rights activists have criticised the Libyan government's violent response to protests [AFP] |
International condemnation of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Libya has escalated, with the European Union pushing for a UN-led probe into human rights abuses and preparing for possible sanctions against the African nation.
A draft proposal by the 27-nation bloc on Wednesday spoke out against "extremely grave human rights violations committed in Libya, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture of peaceful demonstrators," and said they could "amount to crimes against humanity".
The bloc has also agreed to prepare possible sanctions on Libya. Experts will now draw up a list of proposed measures, which could include visa bans, asset freezes, an arms embargo and other restrictions, before EU governments agree when to impose them.
The agreement came after Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, urged the EU to impose "concrete sanctions" on Libya, and David Cameron, the British prime minister, called for a full United Nations Security Council resolution on the issue.
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