Alwaght- Hijackers of the Libyan airplane that was forced to land in Malta used fake weapons.
Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed on Friday that the hijackers of the Libyan airplane had used fake weapons.
"Initial forensic exams now showing weapons used in Afriqiyah hijack are replicas," he wrote on his Twitter account.
According to earlier reports, a hand grenade and two handguns were found onboard the plane.
The Afriqiyah Airways flight, on service from Libya’s southwestern city of Sabha to the capital, Tripoli, was hijacked on Friday morning. The two hijackers demanded the plane head to Malta, 500 kilometers from Libya’s coast. There were 111 passengers (82 men, 28 women and a child) and seven crew members on board. After talks with Malta’s authorities, the hijackers released all passengers and crew members.
A Libyan TV station said one hijacker, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, had said by phone he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadid, or The New Al-Fateh. Al-Fateh is the name that deposed Muammar Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power.
In a tweet, the TV station later quoted the hijacker as saying: "We took this measure to declare and promote our new party."
The hijackers seeking asylum in Europe to "establish a pro-Gaddafi party" surrendered following a tense stand-off lasting more than four hours.
Libya has been in a state of chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Gaddafi left warring militias and terrorists battling for control of different parts of the country.
