Libya Proposes Billions To Pay For Families Of American Victims

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that Libya has offered "a comprehensive settlement" for the families of victims of three terrorist attacks allegedly perpetrated by Libyan agents in the 1980s.

State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack told reporters that Libya's proposal came in the hopes to expedite the settlement of the civil lawsuits filed against Libyan government by the victims of terrorism.

"The administration is exploring this possibility with Libyan representatives to determine if it would help American victims receive fair compensation in the shortest possible time and with greater certainty," McCormack said, according to The Earth Times.

The state department spokesman also confirmed that the assistant secretary of state, David Welch flew to London on Tuesday, to discuss the terrorism compensation proposal with Libyan officials.

Libya was ordered to pay billions of dollars of compensation damages to the families of victims of the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco - which was frequented by U.S. servicemen; the 1988 bombing of Pam Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland -which killed 270 people; and the 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner over Niger.

According to Xinhua, Libya has proposed to pay 2.7 billion dollars to the families of victims of the 270 victims in the Lockerbie bombing. For the families of the French airliner bombing victims, Libya is offering a total of 170 million dollars. No compensation settlement has been resolved on the La Bell disco bombing.

McCormack maintained that the U.S. government is studying the plans with Libyan officials and that it remains committed to helping American victims of terrorism obtain justice through fair compensation.