Plane Hijackers Free All Passengers in Libya

By MARIAM FAM

Hijackers who commandeered a Sudanese plane released all hostages and surrendered on Wednesday to authorities in Libya, according to airline and Libyan officials.

Mohamed Nureldin/Reuters

Passengers released by hijackers arrived Thursday at Sudan's Khartoum International Airport. The hijackers surrendered Wednesday to authorities in Libya.

The Boeing 737, bound for Khartoum, Sudan, with 87 passengers and eight crew members, was hijacked on Tuesday shortly after takeoff from Nyala, in Darfur, Sudan.

It was allowed to land in Kufra, a desert oasis in Libya's arid southeast, close to the Sudanese and Egyptian borders.

Murtada Hassan, executive director of the private airline Sun Air, said the two commandeered the plane "for personal motives" and had no political affiliation. They were armed with at least one pistol, he said.

The Libyan government news agency, however, quoting the plane's pilot, said the hijacker claimed they were part of the Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Movement. The group denied responsibility.

Write to Mariam Fam at mariam.fam@wsj.com