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Hijackers surrender - PM; hijackers had identical 'replica' weapons - government
 [INDEPENDENT.MT] Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the hijackers on the Libyan plane which was hijacked on its way to Tripoli...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and diverted to Malta "surrendered, (were) searched, and (were) taken into custody." Four hours after the Afriqiyah Airways A320 landed in Malta, the two hijackers gave themselves up to the Maltese authorities after they had first released the other 109 passengers and seven members of the crew. The plane landed in Malta this morning at 11.32am, with sources initially saying that two hijackers on board the flight were threatening to blow up the aircraft. It had left Sebha at 10.10am on its way to Tripoli, but it was hijacked and diverted to Malta. TVM is reporting that the hijackers are armed with hand grenades and are Qadaffy supporters. One of them sported Libya's national flag at the time Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... was in power. Ali Milad, the pilot, told Libya Channel TV network that initially the hijackers had asked him to head to Rome. He identified the two hijackers as Moussa Shaha and Ahmed Ali, Libyans who other officials said were in their twenties. The pilot said the men were seeking political asylum in Europe and wanted to set up a political party called "the New Fateh." Fateh is a reference to former Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffy, who led Fateh revolution after his coup in 1969. Sources told The Malta Independent that the two hijackers are Libyans from the south of the country. The sources said the two hijackers demanded asylum in Malta, but other reports say that they seek the setting up of a pro-Qadaffy political party in Libya. The two hijackers are from the south of Libya, and are believed to be in their 20s. It took more than two hours since the plane's landing for the hijackers to agree to the opening of the aircraft door and release the first passengers. The plane's door was opened at 1.44pm and women and kiddies were seen disembarking. This was followed by men, and by 2.37pm, a total of 109 passengers had disembarked. The passengers left the aircraft without carrying any hand luggage. One man, believed to be one of the hijackers, was briefly seen at the top of the stairs leading to the aircraft with the old Libya flag, the all-green flag used by former leader Muamma Qadaffy. He and the second hijacker later disembarked from the plane, a few moments after the crew including the pilot left the aircraft. They were both taken into custody and are being interrogated. They are expected to be arraigned in court in the coming hours. The government later said initial forensic investigations about the hijack of the Air Afriqiyah flight shows that the weapons used were identical "replica" weapons. "Replica" weapons are imitation weapons. Some replica weapons could be used to fire like real weapons, while others do not have this capability. To the layman's eye it is hard to distinguish between a replica weapon that can fire and one which doesn't. Posted by: Fred 2016-12-24 |
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