| Islam,Terrorism and Jihad | |
| 16 Aug 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Libya signs bombing compensation deal with US | |
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15 Aug 2008, REUTERS
TRIPOLI: Libya and the United States signed a deal on Thursday to compensate all US and Libyan victims of bombings or their relatives, clearing the way for the former foes to completely normalise ties.
US victims covered include those who died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people and the 1986 attack on a Berlin disco that killed three people and wounded 229, Libyan officials said.
It also covers Libyans killed in 1986 when US planes bombed Tripoli and Benghazi. Forty people died.
In Washington, a State Department official confirmed the signing of the comprehensive deal. Ties between OPEC member Libya and the United States have improved dramatically since 2003, when Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and said it would stop pursuing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Since then, the United States has dropped many sanctions, removed Libya from a terrorism blacklist and restored diplomatic links after decades of enmity.
Muammar Gaddafi's Libya has slowly emerged from its international isolation. But Libya objected early this year to new US legislation to enable terrorism victims to collect damages from governments such as Libya by having their assets frozen.
The deal on Thursday resolves that dispute. "This international agreement between the two sides ends any pending issue between Tripoli and Washington. It clears the way for normal and complete relations between Libya and the USA," Azzam Eddine of the Libyan negotiating team said.
US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, in Tripoli for the signing, told reporters he was optimistic the deal would be implemented soon: "This agreement will settle the last major issue, which is compensation." View Source article: |
9:06 AM
Sultan Shahin
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