Hijacked Libyan plane headed for Malta

pulse

December 23, 2016 12:05 PM

Maltese government sources told AFP there were 118 people on board the plane, including seven crew.

A group of hostages is released from a hijacked Afriqiyah Airways plane in Malta on December 23, 2016

Maltas Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Friday on Twitter he had been alerted to a "potential hijack" of a Libyan plane reported to be headed for the Mediterranean island.

"Informed of potential hijack situation of a #Libya internal flight diverted to #Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by -JM," the premier said in a post from his official account.

Maltese media reported that the hijacked plane was an Airbus 320 that had been on a domestic Libyan flight operated by Afriqiyah Airways.

Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi left warring militias battling for control of different parts of the country.

Forces loyal to a fledgling national unity government recently took control of the coastal city of Sirte, which had been a bastion for the Islamic State group since June 2015.

Western powers have pinned their hopes of containing jihadism in the energy-rich North African state on the government but it has failed to establish its authority over all of the country.

A rival authority rules the country's far east, backed by the forces under military strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who have been battling jihadists in second city Benghazi.

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