International Criminal Court calls on Libya to hand over Gaddafi's son

Libya should immediately hand over the son of the country's former dictator so a case of alleged crimes against humanity can proceed, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court demanded.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the US Security Council on Tuesday that pursuing accountability in the years since a 2011 rebellion toppled Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been increasingly difficult.

The North African country has split into two governments, one elected and the other backed by Islamists, and security has fallen apart amid militia violence.

The international court in June 2011 charged Saif al-Islam Gaddafi with murder and persecution linked to the violent suppression of the 2011 rebellion.

But Libya has begun its own trial against him, and he is being held by a militia in the western town of Zintan that refuses to surrender him.

Human rights groups have also demanded that Libya turn over Gaddafi to the ICC as concerns grow about the potential for further abuses in the country amid the violence.