The UN Security Council has rarely seen anything like it, with hugs and embraces after an impassioned speech.

The emotional address reduced its speaker, Libya’s UN ambassador, to tears as he denounced the man he called his friend and his brother.

He said he initially “could not believe” Muammar Gaddafi’s troops were firing on protesters and called on sanctions now to be imposed.

“Please United Nations, save Libya,” urged Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham. “No to bloodshed. No to the killing of innocents. We want a decisive, rapid and a courageous resolution from you.”

His defection follows that of his deputy earlier this week as diplomatic activity increases against the Libyan leader. A vote on sanctions that calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate violence in Libya will be decided by the Security Council later today.

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