Three African leaders ignore embargo, arrive in Libya by air

Three African Presidents arrived in Libya on Wednesday by air, ignoring the embargo which has been imposed by the UN on air flights from and to Libya over the Lockerbie case.

Libyan television said that planes of the Presidents of Chad, Idris Deby; Eritrea, Assyas Afworki; and Niger, Ibrahim Bari Manaserah arrived in the coastal Libyan city of Sert, 450 km east of Tripoli.

The three presidents arrived less than 24 hours after the arrival of the president of Uganda to hold talks with Libyan President Moammar Gaddafi. Libyan television added that the president of Uganda held talks with Gaddafi, adding that the Presidents of Niger and Chad met with Gaddafi earlier in the day.

Libyan television added that Gaddafi met on Tuesday with Sudanese Minister of Culture and Information Ghazi Salah al-Din who also arrived in Libya by air.

Upon his arrival, Niger's President Ibrahim Bari Manaserah said: "My visit is part of our usual consultations in the framework of the Sahara (desert) countries coalition." The coalition was established in 1997 to strengthen relations among its member states, which also include Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan.

Deby, on the other hand, said in an arrival statement: "Our talks will center on strengthening bilateral relations and African issues."

During August, presidents Deby, Afworki and Manaserah visited Libya by air to attend the celebrations the Libyan revolution's anniversary. At least eight African presidents visited Libya during September after the Organization of African Unity called in June on its members to ignore the air embargo imposed on Libya since 1992.