ICC probes Gaddafi over Viagra for rapes

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court says he is investigating whether Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provided Viagra to Libyan soldiers to promote the rape of women during the current conflict.

Luis Moreno Ocampo said his office is collecting evidence on rapes and has become more convinced that Gaddafi decided to punish women using rape, which would be a new method in the Libyan conflict of instilling fear and trying to control the population.

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Ocampo told a news conference Wednesday that some witnesses confirmed that the government was buying containers of Viagra-type drugs "to enhance the possibility to rape."

"We are trying to see who was involved," Moreno Ocampo said. "We need to prove the connection with some people."

Meanwhile, US officials said Defense Secretary Robert Gates pointedly prodded five allied nations Wednesday to share more of the burden of the NATO-led air campaign against Libya.

They say none committed to do more.

Officials said Gates used his final NATO meeting before retirement to press Germany and Poland to join the military intervention, and Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to contribute to strike missions against ground targets.

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