Lybia and Lockerbie, good decision by court says Arab League

The secretary-general of the Arab League (AL) on Saturday welcomed the International Court of Justice's ruling that it had jurisdiction in the Libyan dispute with Britain and the US over a 1988 airliner bombing. In a statement the AL secretary said: "The declaration from the court affirms the sound Arab position that calls for the trial to be held in a neutral country."

To this end, the Egyptian foreign Minister Amr Moussa told reporters that the procedural move was an "important step." Libya has been requesting that the trial take place a neutral country for two Libyans who are suspected of blowing up a Pan Am.airliner and its 259 passengers over Lockerbie, Scotland. 11 were killed on the ground, bringing the death tool to 270.

On Friday the International Court of Justice ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear Libya's complaints that Britain and the US were acting unlawfully in insisting on the extradition of the two suspects. The UN has imposed sanctions and an air embargo on Libya since 1990 under the charge of failing to extradite the two men.

Libya has said it is willing to give up the men to the court at the Hague, but Britain and the US insist they must be prosecuted in Scotland, where Libya fears they might not get a fair trial. In a statement broadcast on Egyptian state television, Libya hailed the world court's ruling on the Lockerbie case, adding that the decision proved the sanctions imposed by the UN were unjust and invalid.