The United Nations Security Council is set to meet in New York on Saturday 26 February to consider a sanctions resolution against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. 

The resolution drafted by the UK, France, Germany and the US calls for an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze against Qaddafi.

The resolution also condemns Qaddafi’s violent crackdown and its killing of civilians as crimes against humanity, which would be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation.

On 25 February, US President Barack Obama announced that Washington was introducing unilateral sanctions against the Libyan government, blocking property and transactions related to Qaddafi’s regime and family.

Violent clashes continue in Tripoli and other cities in western Libya between government security forces and anti-Qaddafi protesters.

Much of the eastern half of the country is now reported to be in the control of the opposition movement, with leading figures coming together in cities across the east of the country seeking to introduce law and order.

Qaddafi’s 41-year regime appears to be entering its final days.

Reports from Libya say that Qaddafi’s control is increasingly restricted and even in his traditional strongholds such as Tripoli and towns where he retains tribal loyalties, protesters are reported to have taken control of large areas.

A number of Qaddafi’s key allies are also reported to have defected to the opposition, including, most significantly, some members of his own tribe.

General Abdul-Fatah Younis, Libya’s ex-interior minister, who quit on 21 February told Al-Jazeera that Tripoli is the only major city in Muammar Qaddafi’s hands.

Meanwhile, observers are warning of a potential humanitarian catastrophe as tens of thousands of Egyptian workers seek to flee the country.