The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity and attacks on civilians during the popular uprising against his regime going on since February.

The ICC in The Hague has also issued arrest warrants for two other top figures in the Gaddafi regime - his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi.

The arrest warrants for the Gaddafi regime had been requested by chief ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in May.

Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng announced the decision on behalf of a three-judge panel in The Hague, where the Court is based, saying the warrants were meant to force Gaddafi, his son and his intelligence chief to appear before the court and prevent the possibility of a cover-up, Al Jazeera reported.

This is the second time in the ICC's nine-year history that it has issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state after in 2009 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, which is yet to be enforced.

The Court's decision coincides with the 100th day of NATO operations in Libya. While the international military intervention succeeded in preventing Gaddafi's forces from cracking down on the rebels in Eastern Libya, the opposition forces have gain little additional ground since air strikes began on March 19.

Ocampo's investigation focused on incidents in Benghazi, Misurata and Tripoli from February 15-20. Thousands have so far died in the fighting, while around 650,000 others have fled the country. Another 243,000 Libyans have been displaced internally, according to figures from the United Nations.

The UN Security Council referred the Libyan conflict to the ICC on February 26, and Ocampo launched his investigation five days later.

It is unclear how the ICC warrant might be enforced unless Gaddafi is captured by NATO-led coalition forces. The Libyan dictatorship does not recognize the International Criminal Court.