The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has urged Muammar Gaddafi's own aides to arrest the Libyan leader and turn him over for trial on murder and persecution charges.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gaddafi's inner circle had to decide whether to be part of the problem or part of the solution in Libya.

His appeal on Tuesday came the day after the court issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son, Saif al-Islam, and the country's intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, for alleged crimes against humanity.

"Justice will be done in Libya," Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at the court's Hague headquarters in the Netherlands.