Sudanese plane hijacker held, demands Darfur peace

N'DJAMENA, Jan 24 (Reuters) A young man demanding an end to conflict in Darfur hijacked a Sudanese plane today and tried to force it to fly to Europe, but it diverted to Chad where he was arrested and the passengers released unharmed.

Mahamat Abdelatif Mahamat, who was armed with several knives and a pistol, said he was trying to escape ''degrading and humiliating treatment'' at home in Darfur. The 24-year-old said he was neither a terrorist nor a rebel.

The Sudanese Air West Boeing 737 with 103 passengers and crew on board was on a domestic flight from Khartoum to el-Fasher in Sudan's conflict-torn western Darfur region when Mahamat hijacked it 20 minutes after takeoff, the pilot said.

''I call on the international community to put pressure on Sudan to find a definitive solution to the crisis in Darfur,'' Mahamat, handcuffed and wearing a light-coloured casual jacket, told reporters after his arrest in Chad's capital N'Djamena.

''It was the only way to get out. ... I asked the crew to take me to Rome so I could go on to Britain. But they told me the fuel wouldn't get us there,'' he said. ''I asked them to divert to Bangui or N'Djamena and they said N'Djamena was closer.'' Chad's Infrastructure Minister Adoum Younousmi said Mahamat had first demanded to be flown all the way to Britain.

''He has been arrested and will answer for his actions. ...

Chad is not a sanctuary for terrorists,'' he said.

The hijack happened at a time when Chadian government forces were battling rebels on the eastern border with Sudan who have vowed to topple President Idriss Deby. Deby has accused Sudan of backing the insurgents, a charge denied by Khartoum.

Sudan in turn has accused Chad of backing rebels waging a four-year-old rebellion in Darfur.

''QUIET AND DESPERATE'' Chadian soldiers and two armoured cars surrounded the hijacked plane after it landed at N'Djamena airport.

Mahamat was escorted from the plane by soldiers. He appeared calm and shook hands with Chadian minister Younousmi before being driven away, witnesses at the airport said.

''He's so quiet, and so desperate,'' said the airline's pilot, Captain Ali Asir. He said Mahamat had about five knives and a pistol and had threatened the crew, but had not been violent.

The 95 passengers and eight crew aboard, who were believed to be mostly Sudanese but included a Finnish woman and an Italian man, were taken by bus to the airport terminal, airport officials said. They were due to be returned to Sudan.

An Air West official had said earlier in Khartoum that the hijacker had requested asylum from the French embassy in Chad.

The French government denied any asylum request had been received. French military officials were at the airport.

It was not immediately clear how he managed to smuggle a firearm on board the aircraft but Sudanese security is lax, especially on internal flights, and Captain Asir said he had not locked the cockpit door.

REUTERS SI MIR RAI2140