UN accuses Gaddafi and opposition forces of war crimes

A UN panel investigating the conflict in Libya has accused both Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime and opposition forces of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in their 15-week fight.

Libyan government forces that are pitted against pro-democracy activists who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a three-member panel appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The panel also said that the rebel forces had committed acts that could also constituted war crimes.

The International Commission of Inquiry completed its investigation into alleged human rights violations and submitted its report to the Council yesterday.

The panel writes that "in the present report, the commission identifies a number of violations that have led it to the conclusion that international crimes, and specifically crimes against humanity and war crimes, have been committed," in Libya.

"The commission has found that there have been acts constituting murder, imprisonment, other forms of severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance and  sexual abuse that were committed by Government forces as part of a widespread or  systematic attack against a civilian population with knowledge of the attack."

The panel said that these acts constitute crimes against humanity in a conflict it estimates has killed between 10,000-15,000 people.