United Sates condemns hijacking of Sudanese plane
Jan 25, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The United States has condemned the hijacking of a domestic Sudanese passenger plane owned by Air West company describing the incident as an act of terror.
“The United States Government condemns the January 24 hijacking of Air West flight 612, a domestic Sudanese flight forced to divert to Ndjamena, Chad, as an act of terrorism involving international civil aviation.” a press statement issued by the US Embassy in Khartoum said.
The plane was carrying 95 passengers from Khartoum to the capital of North Darfur al-Fasher but, was diverted to the Chadian capital, Ndjamena by a hijacker.
The statement said that the US understands that the Sudanese Minister of Justice will ask Interpol to hand over the Sudanese national who hijacked the aircraft, and that the Sudanese Government intends to charge the hijacker with terrorism, posing a threat to passenger safety, and illegal possession of arms.
The embassy also referred to Sudanese cooperation in the fight against terror saying “Sudan continues its progress in cooperation to combat terrorism locally and internationally.”
Minister of Justice Mohamed Ali Al-Mardi has said Sudan will ask Interpol to hand over the Sudanese national who hijacked the passenger plane. He said this request is due to the fact that there is no extradition agreement between Sudan and Chad.
Al-Mardi said the hijacker will face charges of terrorism, threat to passengers’ safety and illegal possessions of arms. He pointed out that a detailed investigation would be carried out into how the hijacker managed to board the plane with the weapons.
It is not clear whether Chad will accept to extradite the hijacker to Sudan or no. But Chad announced that the hijacker is a terrorist and he would be tried before Chadian justice.
(ST)