"Arresting Gadhafi is matter of time," said Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
The court also asked for Red Notices on Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, and his brother-in-law, Abdullah Al-Senussi, who served as the regime's intelligence chief. They are also wanted for alleged killings and persecution in the Libyan uprising that erupted in February.
The Red Notice allows Interpol, the international police agency, to widely circulate arrest warrants with an intention to extradite suspects to the criminal court.
The court's actions came amid another round of claims made by Libya's new leadership about the fugitive leader and his family.
A spokesman for the new Tripoli Military Council said anti-Gadhafi fighters had cornered the fallen Libyan leader and that he had no means of escape. But Anees Al-Sharif did not divulge a location.
Abdallah Kenshil, a National Transitional Council member who is negotiating with tribal leaders for a loyalist surrender, said two of Gadhafi's sons had been spotted in Bani Walid, one of the last loyalist strongholds about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
"We know that Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and Mutassim Gadhafi are inside Bani Walid," Kenshil said. "Eyewitnesses we know by name inside Bani Walid told us they saw them."
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi was considered the most influential of Gadhafi's sons. Mutassim Gadhafi served as his father's national security adviser.
"Moammar Ghadafi himself incited violence against our peaceful message in a message broadcast on Al-Rai-TV," Kenshil said, referring to an audio message purportedly from Gadhafi Wednesday.
In recent days, the Syrian television station has aired several messages allegedly from Gadhafi.
"He asked his supporters to destroy the mosque where the negotiations with Bani Walid elders took place," Kenshil said.
The man claiming to be Gadhafi also refuted speculation that he had fled to Niger, saying he was still in Libya and would not leave.
"They claimed I left to Niger so they can weaken you and destroy your morale," he said, adding such reports were "lies."
CNN could not independently confirm any of the interim council's statements. Anti-Gadhafi fighters have made claims before about the arrests or killings of Gadhafi's sons which later were proved false.
Gadhafi has not been seen in public in months.
In Washington, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff insisted Thursday at a briefing that the U.S. mission in Libya is to protect citizens and "is not about capturing or finding Col. Gadhafi."
Joint Chiefs spokesman Capt. John Kirby told journalists at the Pentagon that the United States believes Gadhafi forces are still a danger and some troops continue to be loyal to the Libyan leader.
Neither Kirby nor Pentagon spokesman George Little, the new Pentagon spokesman who appeared with Kirby at the briefing, would comment on recent reports by CNN and others of shoulder-fired missiles being looted from Libyan storage facilities, but Kirby did say the U.S. has told the Libyan National Transitional Council it needs to get control of the various weapons stashes around the country.
Little also said the United States remains confident that chemical weapons material in Libya remains secure and said the material has been under constant watch for months.
Questions about Gadhafi's whereabouts intensified after the fall of Tripoli and reports that his wife, daughter, two sons and other family members fled to neighboring Algeria, which described its acceptance of the family as a humanitarian gesture.
Libya's new leaders, meanwhile, have imposed a Saturday deadline on Gadhafi loyalists to lay down their arms or face military force. The calm that prevailed during negotiations for surrender shattered in Bani Walid Thursday as loyalists fired on advancing opposition fighters.
The anti-Gadhafi fighters were on a reconnaissance mission when they came under fire in Wadi Dinar, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside Bani Walid, Kenshil said.
One opposition fighter was injured in the abdomen, he said. The opposition returned fire and killed a pro-Gadhafi fighter.
Two Libyan convoys passed through Niger this week, officials in that country said. The U.S. State Department said Gadhafi was not believed to be in the convoy.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said earlier this week that officials believe Gadhafi is on the run. "I don't have any information as to exactly where he's located," he said.
Meanwhile, trucks armed with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers pulled into a base 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) southwest of the coastal city of Misrata Wednesday.
The fighting force known as the Victory Unit was back from its patrol of the desert landscape separating Bani Walid and Misrata, loyal to National Transitional Council fighters.
The 70-kilometer (44-mile) buffer zone had been quiet for the past two weeks as negotiations between tribal leaders from Bani Walid and representatives from the National Transitional Council have continued.
"We don't want more bloodshed," said Antar Al Birra, the commander of the Victory Unit. "Too many people have died, so we hope the negotiations will be successful."
Al Birra's forces are battle-hardened from months of heavy fighting, and with Gadhafi's forces against the ropes, he says the battle to take the city will be short.
"If we are ordered to take the city, it won't take us long, maybe two or three hours," Al Birra said.
Many soldiers on the front hope for a peaceful solution. But as Saturday's deadline loomed, many were anxious as hope of success began to fade.
"Negotiations have completely failed," said Shamsaddin Ben Ali, a transitional council spokesman. "We won't agree to their demands."
These demands include transitional council forces entering the city unarmed, refraining from searching houses and -- the most contentious -- a full pardon for the people of Bani Walid.
"We won't grant amnesty because there are people with blood on their hands, and we want them to face a trial," Ben Ali said. "I predict fighting to resume on Saturday.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.
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