Qathafi: settling the file of the French plane victims is near

Libya's Leader of the Revolution Colonel Muammar al Qathafi expected a nearby settlement for the file of the victims of the French Plane ( Yuta) which was blown up over Niger in 1989. In press statements issued yesterday he said that he expects a nearby progress to close this file ultimately.

On the sideline of the "5+5" countries' Conference. which was held during the two past days in Tunisia, the French President Jacque Chirac warned against lack of commitment to obligations by Libya who had earlier committed itself at highest levels to compensate the families of the victims.

Worthy mentioning that Tripoli did not deliberately take responsibility for the incident, but agreed to pay 34 million dollars for the families of the 170 victims, after a French court in 1999 sentenced in absentia 6 Libyans to have been involved in this incident.

The French re-opened the file of the case seeking more compensation, following Libya's consent to pay 2.7 billion for the families of 270 persons who were killed in the blowing of the US Pan American company plane over Lockerbie town in Scotland in 1988.