Libyan opposition groups have formed a ‘National Libyan Council’ in the city of Benghazi, which aims to liberate the remaining cities and towns still under the control of Muammar Qaddafi’s forces.

The body is not an interim government, however, says Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the council, Qatar’s Al-Jazeera news agency reports.

The formation of the body was lead by Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jelil, the former justice minister who resigned from the cabinet on 21 February.

The council has not contacted foreign governments and does not want any international intervention, according to Ghoga.

The United Nations Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which will decide whether to open an investigation. This is only the second time the Security Council has referred a situation to the ICC. The situation in the Darfur region of Sudan was referred in 2005 (MEED 27:2:11).