U.S., Britain and France Push for Sanctions Against Libya : Terrorism: World support is sought to punish Kadafi’s country for its role in bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

The United States, Britain and France have reportedly agreed to start a campaign to win international support for sanctions against Libya for the role they say it played in bombing airliners over Scotland and Africa.

A total of 440 people were killed in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1989 attack on a French UTA airliner over Niger.

The New York Times, citing officials in the three countries, said they are considering a U.N. Security Council resolution that would at a minimum ban all international flights in and out of Libya, the sale of commercial planes and spare parts and the delivery of any airline-related services.

“You’d have to take a bus to Cairo or a ferry to Malta to get out of Libya,” the newspaper quoted a U.S. official as saying. “The punishment would fit the crime.”

But the three countries also are discussing more stringent sanctions, ranging from a ban on the sale of military equipment and civilian technology that could have military uses to a ban on Libyan oil exports, it reported.

Officials told the newspaper that the intention of the sanctions would be to force Libya’s leader, Col. Moammar Kadafi, to comply with specific demands made by the three countries.

The demands include a U.S. and British request for the handing over of two Libyan intelligence agents who have been indicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie and compensation for the attack. The bombing killed all 259 people aboard and 11 people on the ground.

French courts have also accused Libyan agents of the Niger bombing, which killed 170 people.

International air-related sanctions probably would be more bothersome than economically crippling for Libya, forcing traffic in and out of the country to follow land or sea routes.

Such sanctions would also presumably make maintaining Libya’s commercial aircraft difficult.

American, British and French officials said that, while they have not ruled out military action against Libya as a last resort, their current strategy does not include attempts to gain international support for a possible military strike, the paper said.