Lockerbie: Libya accepts civil responsibility

Libya has reached political agreement with the United States and Britain to accept civil responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and pay up to $10 million in compensation to victims' relatives, a source close to the talks said.

"History is in the making," the source said after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns met Libyan and British officials in London.

Under the arrangement, Libya would compensate families of the 259 mostly American passengers and crew killed in the mid-air explosion of the Pan Am flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 and 11 people killed on the ground.

Tripoli would initially pay $4 million into an escrow account for the victims, once United Nations sanctions against Libya were formally lifted, the source said.

Another $4 million would follow if the United States removed its national sanctions against Libya. A final $2 million would be paid if Washington also repealed its Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. If the United States failed to lift those measures within eight months, Libya would pay only $1 million extra into the account, limiting its total payment to $5 million.

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