Hijackers who forced a domestic Libyan flight to land in Malta on Friday have surrendered, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said.
ADVERTISEMENTHijackers who forced a domestic Libyan flight to land in Malta on Friday have surrendered, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said.
The hostage-takers have been searched and taken into custody, he tweeted.
Hijackers surrendered, searched and taken in custody.
— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) 23 décembre 2016
It follows the release of all passengers on board the Libyan state-owned Afriqiyah Airways plane, said to be carrying 118 passengers and crew.
It was on an internal flight from Sebha in the southwest of Libya to Tripoli when it was hijacked on Friday.
Maltese media reported that two hostage takers had threatened to blow up the Airbus A320.
The Times of Malta reported earlier that a hijacker told crew that he was“pro-Gaddafi”. The exact demands of the hijackers are still unclear.
Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and the country has been racked by factional violence since.
The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is about 500 km north of the Libyan coast.