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Sudanese plane hijacked in Darfur | Sudanese plane hijacked in Darfur |
(about 6 hours later) | |
A Sudanese airliner hijacked shortly after take-off from Nyala, in Darfur region, has landed in Libya. | |
The plane was on its way to Khartoum, but has landed in the remote town of Kufra near the Libya-Sudan border, Sudanese aviation officials say. | |
The hijackers have asked for fuel to fly the plane, belonging to Sudanese airline Sun Air and with 95 people on board, to France. | |
Officials said members of a former Darfur rebel group were on the plane. | |
A Sudanese security official said a man with a knife had hijacked the plane, The Associated Press news agency reported. | A Sudanese security official said a man with a knife had hijacked the plane, The Associated Press news agency reported. |
Aviation officials said the plane, a Boeing 737, had landed at the Libyan oasis town of Kufra, in the desert near the border with Sudan. | Aviation officials said the plane, a Boeing 737, had landed at the Libyan oasis town of Kufra, in the desert near the border with Sudan. |
Rebel denial | Rebel denial |
The three former rebels allegedly on board were originally said to be senior members of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Arkou Minnawi. | |
His group was the only one to sign a peace deal with the Khartoum government in 2006. | His group was the only one to sign a peace deal with the Khartoum government in 2006. |
However, a spokesman for Minni Minnawi said his three associates had not taken part in the hijacking. | |
The AFP news agency then reported that the hijackers were members of a hard-line rebel group whose leader lives in France. | |
A five-year conflict in Darfur has left about 200,000 people dead and more than two million homeless. | A five-year conflict in Darfur has left about 200,000 people dead and more than two million homeless. |
Sudanese civil aviation officials told the BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum that the plane had landed in Libya. | Sudanese civil aviation officials told the BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum that the plane had landed in Libya. |
Arabic satellite network al-Jazeera said the plane initially tried to land in Cairo, Egypt, where it was denied permission to land. | Arabic satellite network al-Jazeera said the plane initially tried to land in Cairo, Egypt, where it was denied permission to land. |
The desert Oasis of Kufra is in a remote region approximately 1,700km (1,050 miles) south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. | |
It is an area close to both the Sudanese and Chadian borders, and is often used as a corridor for humanitarian aid for displaced Darfuri refugees in Chad, as well as a transit point into the country by illegal immigrants, says the BBC's Rana Jawad, in Tripoli. |