The court approved warrants for Qaddafi, his son Saif Al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity. ICC prosecutors allege they were involved in the killing of protesters who rose up in February against Qaddafi's 41-year rule.

Qaddafi has "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over Libya's state apparatus and its security forces, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said in reading out the ruling.

She added that both Qaddafi and Saif Al-Islam "conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations" against the regime and that Al-Senussi used his position of command to have attacks carried out.

Celebrations erupted in Benghazi after the ICC ruling. People honked their car horns, waved flags, fired shots into the air and flashed victory signs in the street.

The opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) said the arrest warrants made any attempt at negotiating with Qaddafi irrelevant.

"We are extremely happy that the whole world has united in prosecuting Qaddafi for the crimes he has committed," NTC spokesman Jalal Al-Galal told Reuters.

"It is premature to talk about any negotiation. After this warrant, it is all irrelevant. We cannot negotiate with war criminals. The world has confirmed what we have been saying all along. He's a war criminal, and he should be tried for it."

But in Libya's neighbor, Tunisia, three Libyan ministers, including the foreign minister, were holding talks with "foreign parties," the Tunisian state news agency reported, in a possible sign some in Qaddafi's circle were seeking a settlement.

Tunisia's state news agency TAP reported late Sunday that Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi was in talks on the island of Djerba, in southern Tunisia." It gave no details on the talks.

Anti-Qaddafi fighters, based in the Western Mountains region southwest of Tripoli, made their biggest breakthrough in weeks to reach the town of Bir Al-Ghanam, where they are now fighting pro-Qaddafi forces for control, their spokesman said.

The advance took them about 30 km north from their previous position and closer to Tripoli, Qaddafi's power base.