Libya Accepts Responsibility For Bombing Over Lockerbie

The Libyan government has accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, potentially clearing a major obstacle to eliminating U.S. and U.N. economic sanctions on the country, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam said today. His statement represents the latest concession by Libya, which previously agreed to establish a fund to compensate families of the explosion’s 270 victims. During discussions with lawyers representing the families, Libyan officials said they would pay up to $10 million for each victim in three installments as sanctions are lifted, according to U.S. sources familiar with the negotiations. While Libya’s willingness to set up a $2.7 billion fund represented an implicit acceptance of responsibility, U.S. and British officials continued to call for outright acknowledgment of a government role in the attack, which killed 259 aboard the airplane and 11 in the village where it crashed. This demand figured prominently in a meeting early last month among officials from the three countries. Full Story