BY Mayowa Tijani
The hijack of EgyptAir Flight MS181 on Tuesday morning was the desperate act of a lovelorn man rather than an act of terrorism, the Cyprus president has said.
Egyptian state TV had earlier named Ibrahim Samaha as the hijacker, saying he chose to land the Egyptian aircraft at Larnaca airport, Cyprus, in other to meet his ex-wife. But Samaha, a professor of veterinary medicine, contacted the media to say he was also one of the hostages taken on the plane – not the hijacker.
Cyprus has, however, revealed that the true hijacker is Seif Eldin Mustafa, who is requesting for the release of a female prisoner.
The EgyptAir plane was hijacked while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, but was forced to land in Cyprus, following a bomb threat by the hijacker.
Nicos Anastasiades, president of the island country, insisted that the standoff was not a case of terrorism, but of love, saying: “It’s all to do with a woman. We are doing everything to release the hostages.”
According to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, via Reuters, the hijacker has now made a political demand: the release of some unspecified female prisoners in Egypt.
EgyptAir revealed that the Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers, six crew members and a security official – down from 81 passengers earlier announced to be on board.
A senior Alexandria airport official said those on board the flight when it took off included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, one Italian and 30 Egyptians.
The hostages left in the plane are the pilot and co-pilot, a female cabin crew member, a security officer and three passengers, who are said to be US citizens.
Photo credit: theguardian.com
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