Gaddafi regrets Reagan died without facing trial

Reagan was the longest living US president

Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, said today he regretted that Ronald Reagan, a former US president, had died without ever being tried for 1986 air strikes that killed dozens of people, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.

"I express my profound regrets over Reagan's death before he appeared before justice to be held to account for his ugly crime in 1986 against Libyan children," Gaddafi said.

Reagan ordered the April 15, 1986, air strikes in response to a disco bombing in West Berlin that killed three people, including two US servicemen. Washington blamed Libya for the blast.

Libya said more than 40 people died in the strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi. The targets included Gaddafi's home, where his 15-month-old adopted daughter died.

Reporting Reagan's death, JANA news agency simply referred to him as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's partner "in the unsuccessful American-Atlantic (Nato) aggression" on Gaddafi's home.

Libya, which recently emerged from international isolation over its alleged support for "terrorism", has been promoting better ties with the United States since agreeing in December to dismantle its programmes of weapons of mass destruction.

It was not immediately clear if Gaddafi's comments would affect the progress in relations between the two countries.

George W. Bush, the US president, suspended sanctions against Libya in April, allowing US firms to buy Libyan oil and invest in its economy.

Tensions between the two countries were highest under Reagan, who recalled his ambassador in Tripoli after angry crowds sacked the US embassy in 1980. The United States imposed an embargo on Libyan oil in 1982 and US oil companies pulled out.

In January 1986, Reagan moved to isolate Libya further after accusing Gaddafi of sponsoring international terrorism and harbouring the Palestinian Abu Nidal guerrilla group, blamed for attacks on airports in Rome and Vienna the previous month.

Reagan announced new economic sanctions against Libya banning trade, loans and travel to Libya by US citizens.

Tensions culminated in a military confrontation in March 1986, when Libya fired missiles at US aircraft during US military manoeuvres in the Gulf of Sirte. The United States responded by attacking Libyan patrol boats and a land-based missile site at Sirte. - Reuters