“They have no mercy on civilians; the regime is attacking everything indiscriminately.

“There is a very tragic situation in the city. We were expecting the world to intervene but they have let us down.”

“The unfolding transformations [in the Middle East] have been less of a surprise for us at Al Jazeera. Since our launch nearly 15 years ago, we have chosen to keep close to the Arab street, gauging its pulse and reflecting its aspirations.

Following the unanimous UN Security Council resolution on Saturday, referring Libya to the International Criminal Court, British Foreign Secretary William Hague Monday warned other abusers of human rights:

“The international community has come together in way it has not done before, setting aside differences … We have signalled that crimes will not be condoned, will not go unpunished and will not be forgotten.

If a country is not a member of the International Criminal Court (such as Libya and Sri Lanka), its citizens can be prosecuted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide only if the UN Security Council refers it.

The below are extracts from UNSC resolution 1970 (2011) related to the referring of Libya to the ICC:

“The Security Council,

“In the Bush White House it was forbidden to speak of "root causes" of terrorism, as this would suggest some degree of legitimacy on the part of those who should only be thought of as mindless killers."

- Robert L. Grenier, Director of the CIA Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC) from 2004 to 2006. See his comment forAl-Jazeera here.

“When there is a systematic link between cultural identity and economic status, democracy becomes a problem, rather than a solution. It exacerbates cultural conflicts to the point of violence, because it provides a formal opportunity for the majority to force their will on the minority.

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted an arms embargo against Libya, a travel and assets ban on Moamer Gaddafi's regime and ordered a crimes against humanity investigation into the bloodshed.

The vote is thought to be the first time the Security Council has voted unanimously to refer a member state to the International Criminal Court.

Notable is the support by the United States, Russia and China for referring Libya to the ICC.

“The honest truth is that part of the support western governments offered the likes of President Mubarak was because he appeared to be a guarantor of stability in the region.

“The central assumption of the durability of long-standing and unpleasant regimes has been swept away. This change in circumstance has left many of the old orthodoxies seeming out of date and on the wrong side of history.

“[Liberal] ideas, to a large extent nurtured in the hothouse of Western consciousness and then innocently exported as a sign of goodwill … might originally be intended only as public relations move.

“But over time such ideas gave rise to the dreams of the oppressed and victimised - and when the unexpected historical moment finally arrived, burst into flame.

“The Libyan Diaspora has a significant role to play in this uprising. Though undeniably important, it is not enough for Libyans to protest outside embassies overseas. Due to Qaddafi’s shut down of the Internet, the Diaspora has become more important, particularly in spreading information about gatherings … and pressuring the international community to support the well-deserved and long overdue freedom for the Libyan people.”