UN -The UN Security Council moved as a powerful bloc Saturday to try to halt Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi's deadly crackdown on protesters, slapping sanctions on him, his five children and 10 top associates. Voting 15-0 after daylong discussions interrupted with breaks to consult with capitals back home, the council imposed an arms embargo and urged UN member countries to freeze the assets of Gaddafi, his four sons and his daughter. The council also backed a travel ban on the Gaddafi family and close associates, including leaders of the revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against opponents. Council members additionally agreed to refer the Gaddafi regime's deadly crackdown on people protesting his rule to a permanent war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity. The council said its actions were aimed at "deploring the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including the repression of peaceful demonstrators." And members expressed concern about civilian deaths, "rejecting unequivocally the incitement to hostility and violence against the civilian population made from the highest level of the Libyan government."
