The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved sanctions against the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi and his close associates in response to the use of violence by the security forces against civilians. The Security Council agreed to impose an arms embargo on Libya, freeze the assets of the Gaddafi family and referred the Libyan authority to the International Criminal Court. The number of foreign workers fleeing the violence in the country is also causing international concern. The UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon said more than 20 thousand people had fled to Tunisia and 15 thousand to Egypt.In the eastern city of Benghazi which is under the control of the opponents of Colonel Gaddafi moves underway to form a transitional government. Mustafa Abdel-Jalil – who resigned as justice minister in protest against the excessive use of force against demonstrators – said a body comprising military and civilian figures would prepare for elections within three months.US President Barack Obama has said the Libyan leader should step down and leave the country immediately. India today joined other UNSC members in imposing sanctions against the Libyan regime and deplored the unacceptable use of force in the country. India’s ambassador to the UN,Hardeep Singh Puri,however, said New Delhi favoured a more calibrated approach on referring the matter to a war crimes tribunal. He also asked Libya to ensure the safe departure of foreigners from the country. The envoy, however, added that India had gone along with the consensus in the Council because African and Arab states wanted to refer the matter to the ICC, and this was also what Libyan envoy Mohamed Shalgam had asked for in his letter sent to the Council yesterday.External Affairs ministry sources said in New Delhi today,the resolution to slap sanctions against the Gaddafi regime was passed unanimously by the UNSC after diplomats spent an entire day yesterday working on the draft prepared by France, UK, Germany and the US. The Council also unanimously referred the issue of violence in Libya to the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) though India said it would have favoured a more gradual approach.India, however, relented after the resolution was modified to include that the Security Council could defer ICC action for a period of 12 months and renew that deferral, which is also article 16 of the Rome Statute that established the ICC.Today's vote came as the violence flared up in the North African country, with more than 1,000 pro-democracy protesters losing their lives in the brutal crackdown launched by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi to crush the two-week revolt against his 41-year authoritarian rule. The sanctions included asset freezes for 68-year-old Gaddafi and his family, travel ban for the Libyan leader and his family as well as other leaders of the regime, a comprehensive arms embargo and an immediate referral to ICC.The resolution also states that non-Libyan nationals from a country, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, shall only be subject to jurisdiction of that state for any crimes committed in Libya in operations authorised by the Council.