Two French lawyers say they plan to initiate legal proceedings against French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday for crimes against humanity over the NATO-led military campaign in Libya.

A Libyan justice ministry official told reporters in Tripoli that Jacques Verges and Roland Dumas had offered to represent families he said were victims of the NATO bombing campaign.

"The two lawyers are going to file a complaint in the French courts in the name of the Libyan families," Boukhzam said, at a press conference on Sunday  attended by 30 representatives of the families.

On March 19, Sarkozy announced the launch of military action in Libya, backed by Western countries and Arab allies, as Gaddafi's forces threatened the rebel-held city of Benghazi. Dumas and Verges were speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Libya.

They said they would begin legal proceedings on their return to France on Monday.

"We are going to break the wall of silence." - Jacques Verges