Sahel, Sahara grouping calls for immediate lifting of embargo on Libya

The Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD) called the United Nations Security Council to immediately lift the "unfair" embargo imposed on Libya.

The embargo no longer has "a legal nor ethic" raison d'être after the trial of the two Libyan nationals accused of involvement in the Lockerbie issue, said participants in the CEN-SAD third summit, held in Khartoum, Sudan.

A Scottish court sentenced recently one Libyan national to life-imprisonment and acquitted the other.

The Khartoum Declaration, which crowned the Summit, called for the liberation of Abdel Basset Ali Al-Migrahi, who was jailed for life. The trial is political and has nothing to do with the law, the declaration insisted.

The summit urged regional and international organization to put pressure for lifting the embargo.

The summit also called for a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, guaranteeing the Palestinians the right to establish their independent state.

CEN-SAD groups 16 nations namely the Central African Republic, Senegal, Zambia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Somalia.