Libya to pay €132.5m for French jetliner bombing
Libya has signed a compensation accord worth €132.5m with families of victims of a 1989 French jetliner bombing over Africa.
The deal also should open the way to a new era of ties between Tripoli and Paris.
The agreement was signed between a representative of families of victims of the attack, Guillaume Denoix de Saint Marc, the director of a Libyan foundation, Salah Abdu Slame, a bank handling the transfer of funds and the lawyer for SOS-Attentat, a group which works for terrorism victims rights.
The September, 1989, bombing of an UTA airlines jet flight over the Niger desert killed all 170 people aboard. Victims families came from 17 countries, but France, with 54 dead, had the heaviest casualties.
“We’re happy to have succeeded … the scar will always remain, but at least it has healed,” de Saint Marc said shortly before the signing in Paris.
A special foundation was being set up to distribute funds, not expected to start flowing for six months.
