(Reuters) — A man exited the hijacked Afriqiyah Airways plane in Malta on Friday (December 23) to wave a green flag similar to those used by supporters of toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi before reentering the aircraft.
One of the men who hijacked a Libyan internal flight and diverted it to Malta told Libyan TV on Friday that he was the head of a party supporting the late Gaddafi.
The man, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, told Libya’s Channel TV station by phone that he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadeed, or
The New Al-Fateh. Al-Fateh is the name that Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power.
A Libyan lawmaker who spoke to one of the passengers also said the two hijackers were demanding the creation of a pro-Gaddafi party.
