Libya hails UN ban lifting as victory

Thousands of joyful Libyans and folklore music bands took to the streets in Tripoli and other cities to express their relief at the end of the embargoes that weighed on their daily lives for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, an official statement told Libyans worried about the impact on the state budget of the promised $2.7 billion to be paid to families of the victims of a Pan Am flight bombing, that money would trickle back from US firms when they resume business in Libya if Washington permits.

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France and the United States, which has its own separate sanctions on Tripoli, abstained in the 13-0 council vote to end the UN embargoes imposed on Libya after the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"That UN vote is another victory...With that vote Libya is entering another stage and opening another page thanks to its ability and wisdom in handling the battle," the radio said in comments sure to reflect the Libyan government position.

Government officials in Tripoli hope that ending the embargoes will open the oil-rich country's gates to foreign investment and help it reform its state-dominated economy.

Libya last month accepted blame for the Lockerbie bombing, renounced terrorism and agreed to put $2.7 billion into a special account to compensate families of the 270 victims, after 15 years of international pressure and negotiations.

"The amount of money to be paid in compensation would be offset by the financial participation of US firms which would return to work in Libya in oil, aviation and technologies, " said an official statement carried by state media.

Tripoli separately reached agreement on Thursday with families of 170 victims of the bombing of a French UTA airliner in 1989, clearing the way for the lifting of sanctions as France dropped its threat to veto the UN move.