WORLD> Africa
Hijackers free all Sudanese plane passengers
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-27 20:09

CAIRO - All passengers of the hijacked Sudanese plane have started to leave it, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel reported on Wednesday.

The crew members were still held by the hijackers on board, the report said.

The Sudanese passenger plane was hijacked on Tuesday en route from Niyala, the capital city of Sudan's South Darfur State, to the capital Khartoum. The plane later landed at Al-Kafra Airport in southeastern Libya.

The hijacked airliner belongs to a private company, Sun Air, and was carrying 95 people, including eight crew and 87 passengers, Libya's official JANA news agency said.

Negotiations between Libyan authorities and the hijackers led to the release of all passengers, JANA said.

The hijackers have earlier demanded to refuel the plane so that it can fly to Paris, JANA said, quoting Khaled Sassia, head of the airport in Al-Kafra.

The hijackers also asked for maps to guide their flight path from Al-Kafra to Paris, it added.