Fifteen years after the bombing of Pan Am 103, the UN Security Council has lifted sanctions against Libya, triggering the release of up to $2.7 billion (2.39 billion euro) to the families of the attack's 270 victims.
France and the United States, which has its own separate sanctions on the Tripoli government, abstained in the 13-0 council vote on Friday to end the embargoes imposed on Libya after the 1988 mid-air attack of the Boeing jumbo jet over Lockerbie.
Passage was assured on yesterday when France withdrew a threat to veto the measure after relatives of the victims of a separate 1989 bombing of a French UTA airliner won a promise of additional compensation from the Libyan government.