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| Africa Horn |
| Sudan hijackers surrender in Libya |
| 2008-08-28 |
| Two hijackers of a Sudanese plane have surrendered to Libyan authorities, a Libyan official has said. They surrendered at a remote desert airport after freeing all passengers on board, almost 24 hours after the drama began. The attackers, who claimed to be from Sudan's conflict-ridden region of Darfur, hijacked the plane on Tuesday shortly after takeoff from Darfur's main city of Nyala on a flight to the Sudanese capital Khartoum. But they gave themselves up on Wednesday, several hours after releasing all 87 passengers from the Sun Air Boeing 737 which was forced to land on Tuesday evening after it ran short of fuel. Libyan state television showed visibly tired but relieved passengers surrounded by Libyan soldiers following their release. "The night was terrifying and difficult. I thank the Libyan authorities for their efforts which allowed us to be freed," a Sudanese passenger told Jana, the official Libyan news agency. Another passenger said the hijackers were armed with small calibre pistols. Sudan called on the Libyan authorities to arrest and deport to Khartoum the "terrorist" hijackers. "We condemned the hijacking and we have appealed to the international community to condemn it as well," Ali Sadiq, spokesman for Sudan's foreign ministry, told Al Jazeera. |
| Posted by:Fred |