Hijacker seizes Sudanese plane, forces it to Chad

N'Djamena, Chad: A hijacker seized a Sudanese Boeing 737 carrying 103 passengers and crew yesterday and forced the pilot at gunpoint to fly to the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, where he surrendered, officials said.

Saif Omer, Air West airline's managing director, said the man walked out of the plane after it landed in Chad and said he wanted asylum in Britain. No one was injured, Omer said.

"The passengers were unaware that the plane had been hijacked," Omer told The Associated Press.

The hijacker entered the cockpit a half-hour after takeoff and put a pistol to the pilot's head, demanding to go to London, said Chad's infrastructure minister, Adoum Younousmi. When the captain told him there was not enough fuel, the hijacker agreed to land in Chad, where he surrendered. He made no threats against the passengers, who were Sudanese except for a Briton and an Italian military attache.

Omer identified the hijacker as Mohammad Abdu Altif, 26, of Al Fasher, capital of North Darfur state and headquarters for the African Union force trying to pacify Darfur. He said the man appeared to be in his mid-30s. Air West flight 612 had been headed from Khartoum to the western city of Al Fasher.