Nato could arrest Assad in Syria: Ex-ICC prosecutor

MONTREAL (AFP) - The former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday that world leaders had a "good case" for asking Nato to prepare a warrant to arrest Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer who was the ICC's first prosecutor, said given "it was absolutely clear" that as Syria's commander-in-chief, Mr Assad's forces had killed civilians, NATO could execute such a warrant.

He told Canadian broadcaster CBC that such a warrant, carried out by both international and Syrian forces, was "one possible solution to the problem" of Mr Assad, but the world community must first reach a consensus on Syria.

"We can have a new, more innovative approach, combining justice and a real effort to implement the warrant and then (have) negotiations at the same time," Mr Moreno-Ocampo told CBC.