27 August 2008
Two hijackers who seized a Sudanese airliner flying from the Darfur region to the capital, Khartoum, have released the flight's 87 passengers in Libya, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported Wednesday.
The hijackers took control of the aircraft after it left the town of Nyala in western Darfur on Tuesday, the newspaper said. They said they were heading for Tripoli, but landed at the military airport of Kufra near Libya's border with Egypt and Sudan.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sudanese time, there were conflicting reports over whether the hijackers had surrendered. The Tribune quoted Libyan authorities as saying the country's civil aviation authority was still negotiating with them. But later the Associated Press quoted an airline director as saying officials in Kufra had confirmed the surrender.
Murtada Hassan, executive director of the Sun Air airline, also told AP the hijackers' motives were personal, and not related to the conflict in Darfur.
Update: The surrender of the hijackers was later confirmed by an Libyan official.
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