The three Western nations have accused Libya of masterminding the two bombings, in which 441 people died.

France has its own concern, since it accuses Libya of blowing up a French airliner in 1989, killing 170 people.

The bombings came after attacks on United States servicemen in Europe in which Washington accused Libya of being involved.

It accused Libya of lying in asserting that the planes were unarmed reconnaissance aircraft.

The French accused Libya of plotting the explosion, and the case remains unresolved.

Washington has accused Libya of building a chemical weapons plant near Tripoli and of contracting with Thai companies to work on it.

Publicly accusing Syria, Libya and Iran of involvement in the synagogue attack could have painful consequences for the Turkish Government.

Chad has accused Libya of backing the offensive, a charge repeated by the United States but denied by Libya.

However, a year later Sudan accused Libya of involvement in three successive coup attempts and severed diplomatic relations.

Egypt had earlier accused Libya of being responsible for several bomb attacks in Cairo and elsewhere in 1975 and 1976.