Libya Denounces Deadline for Handing Over Lockerbie Suspects
Libya on Sunday denounced a Western deadline for handing over two men suspected in the Lockerbie bombing, and diplomats said the statement could lead to new sanctions against Moammar Kadafi’s government.
The United States, France and Britain said Friday that Libya would face further sanctions if it did not hand over the suspects by Oct. 1 for trial in the United States or Britain.
The two men, alleged by the West to be Libyan intelligence agents, are suspects in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, in which all 259 people aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and 11 on the ground were killed.
The Security Council decided to maintain existing aviation, arms and diplomatic sanctions imposed 16 months ago. It also wants greater Libyan cooperation with a French investigation into the bombing of a UTA airline flight, which blew up over Niger on Sept. 19, 1989, killing 171 people.
Libya, which denies any involvement in the Pan Am and UTA bombings, said the council’s decision was a threat.
It said the announcement showed “the submission of the U.N. Security Council to the pressures of the major powers,” the official news agency Jana said.
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