The French government says Libya has handed over millions of dollars in compensation to the families of those killed in the bombing of a French airliner in l989.

The French foreign ministry said Libya had transferred thirty-one million dollars, in line with a French court order earlier this year.

A total of one-hundred and seventy people died when a French UTA plane exploded in mid-air over the West African state of Niger, at a time of heightened tension in the region between France and Libya. France has already sentenced six Libyans to life imprisonment in their absence. International sanctions against Libya have been suspended since it handed over two men suspected of another plane bombing, over Lockerbie in Scotland.