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The hijacking of a Libyan plane has ended peacefully after armed men who seized control surrendered in Malta.
The domestic flight with 118 people on board was hijacked after taking off from Sabha, bound for the Libyan capital Tripoli.
Instead, the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was diverted to Malta International Airport.
It appears the two hijackers are supporters of Libya's late deposed leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Pictures of them kneeling on the tarmac with their hands up appear to show the moment they were arrested by the Maltese authorities.
All the passengers - including one infant - and a number of the crew had already been released.
Speaking at a press conference after the men were arrested, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat revealed the men had been armed with a pistol and a grenade.
A search of the aircraft following their arrest revealed a second gun.
Mr Muscat said neither of the men, believed to be of Libyan nationality, had made any demands.
He told the press conference: "The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing. The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events.
"Once this interrogation process is completed over the next few hours arrangements will be made to send the passengers and the crew members back to Libya with another Afriqiyah aircraft."
Shortly before the incident drew to an end, one man emerged from the plane briefly and stood on the plane steps waving a green, Gaddafi-era flag - adding support to earlier suggestions they were loyalists to the former leader, killed in 2011.
Taher Siala, the foreign minister of Libya's internationally backed Government of National Accord, said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gaddafi political party.
One of the hijackers told a Libyan television station: "We took this measure to declare and promote our new party."
Initial information had suggested the hijackers were trying to claim political asylum in Malta, the mayor of Sabha, Colonel Hamed al-Khayali, told the BBC.
The incident began after the plane took off from Sabha at 11:10 local time (08:10 GMT), landing in Malta two hours and 20 minutes later.
Mr Muscat said the passenger list included 82 men, 28 women and one baby.
Col Khayali said security at Tmenhant was poor, with a distance of 5km (3.1 miles) travel between the airport building and planes.
"That is an open space and it is possible that along that route something was smuggled on board," he said.
Malta International Airport was closed and all flights were diverted while the incident was on-going.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38416112
The domestic flight with 118 people on board was hijacked after taking off from Sabha, bound for the Libyan capital Tripoli.
Instead, the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was diverted to Malta International Airport.
It appears the two hijackers are supporters of Libya's late deposed leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
Pictures of them kneeling on the tarmac with their hands up appear to show the moment they were arrested by the Maltese authorities.
All the passengers - including one infant - and a number of the crew had already been released.
Speaking at a press conference after the men were arrested, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat revealed the men had been armed with a pistol and a grenade.
A search of the aircraft following their arrest revealed a second gun.
Mr Muscat said neither of the men, believed to be of Libyan nationality, had made any demands.
He told the press conference: "The two hijackers have been detained in custody and interrogations are ongoing. The rest of the crew and passengers are also being questioned to ascertain events.
"Once this interrogation process is completed over the next few hours arrangements will be made to send the passengers and the crew members back to Libya with another Afriqiyah aircraft."
Shortly before the incident drew to an end, one man emerged from the plane briefly and stood on the plane steps waving a green, Gaddafi-era flag - adding support to earlier suggestions they were loyalists to the former leader, killed in 2011.
Taher Siala, the foreign minister of Libya's internationally backed Government of National Accord, said the hijackers wanted to set up a pro-Gaddafi political party.
One of the hijackers told a Libyan television station: "We took this measure to declare and promote our new party."
Initial information had suggested the hijackers were trying to claim political asylum in Malta, the mayor of Sabha, Colonel Hamed al-Khayali, told the BBC.
The incident began after the plane took off from Sabha at 11:10 local time (08:10 GMT), landing in Malta two hours and 20 minutes later.
Mr Muscat said the passenger list included 82 men, 28 women and one baby.
Col Khayali said security at Tmenhant was poor, with a distance of 5km (3.1 miles) travel between the airport building and planes.
"That is an open space and it is possible that along that route something was smuggled on board," he said.
Malta International Airport was closed and all flights were diverted while the incident was on-going.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38416112
