On December 23, 2016 a Libyan state-owned airline Afriqiyah Airways plane was hijacked by attackers armed with hand grenades. ^[2]

The two hijackers have hand grenades and have threatened to blow up the aircraft that has 111 passengers on board; it is not clear what their demands are.

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Just over two hours after the plane landed, live video showed passengers disembarking as women and children were permitted to leave.

Male passengers and crew, however, continued to be held as hostages.

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Earlier footage showed movement in the cockpit as armed troops stood watch on the runway.

The Times of Malta reported that the hijackers claimed to be from a Libyan faction called Fatah al-Gadida, and were willing to release all passengers — but keep the crew on board — if their demands were met.

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Maltese troops outside an Afriqiyah Airways A320 that was diverted from Libya on Dec. 23, 2016, in an apparent hijacking.

(Tvm/AP).

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According to the Washington Post that report could not be independently confirmed, and it was not immediately clear what demands, if any, were made. ^[4]

But the group was described in reports as loyal to the toppled regime of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Sabha, the southern Libyan city where the flight began, has been the scene of ongoing clashes between rival tribes. ^[4]

The Sabha region is also known as a hub for arms smuggling and traffickers taking migrants from Libya and other points in Africa on the 400-mile journey to the Mediterranean for clandestine ships bound for Europe.

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The Libyan passenger plane an Airbus A320, was on an internal flight from Sabha in southern Libya to Tripoli, the capital when it was diverted to Malta. ^[2]

An airport security official said the pilot had told Tripoli International Airport that the plane was being hijacked before communications were lost. ^[2]

The official added that the pilot tried to land in Tripoli but the hijackers refused.

Passengers include 82 males, 28 females and an infant.

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The Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat tweeted that he had been informed of a "potential hijack situation" involving a Libyan flight diverted to Malta. ^[2]

Airport officials said emergency teams had been sent to the site of what they described as "unlawful interference".

Malta state television has reported that the hijackers have hand grenades and have threatened to blow up the Airbus A320 plane.

All flights in an out of Malta have been cancelled.

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