Terrorism in Chad
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Terrorism in Chad has been used by rebel groups a means of opposing the successive dictatorships since Chadian independence in 1960 and the Tomalbaye administration. Chadian President Idriss Déby says his ongoing battle against rebels and Janjaweed militiamen based in Sudan is a war against Islamic extremists.[1]
[edit] January 2007 hijacking
Muhammad Abdelatif Mahamat, a Sudanese citizen, hijacked Air West Flight 612 and forced it to land in N'Djamena, Chad on 24 January 2007. The plane took off from Khartoum at 6:00 AM, originally destined for Al-Fasher, Darfur. Half-an-hour after liftoff, the hijacker used a machine gun and a knife to threaten the pilots, telling them to fly the plane to London, England where he hoped to gain political asylum. The pilots told him the plane did not have enough fuel to fly to England, so he agreed to let them fly to Chad. They landed in N'Djamena, escorted by French fighter jets, at 8:30 AM.[2][3][4][5][6]
When he landed in Chad he asked the French embassy to guarantee his safety. Chadian security forces surrounded the plane and the hijacker let the hostages go, but did not leave the plane until twenty minutes later when he negotiated his surrender. Chadian Infrastructure Minister Adoum Younomosmi said, "Chad did not act on his demand. He has been arrested and will answer for his actions. Chad is not a sanctuary for terrorists... He is a terrorist and we will take him to court."[2][4]
Mahamet later said, "The pressure we live under in Darfur forces us to seek freedom. Freedom is priceless and I left for freedom. I wanted to attract national and international opinion to what's happening in Darfur... I'm neither a rebel nor in the opposition, but the Sudanese government is exterminating the population by creating conflicts among different communities and saying that it's just an internal, communal problem."[5]
According to the Chadian government Mahamet has ties to the Justice and Equality Movement.[5]
The plane, a Boeing 737, carried 85 passengers and 18 crew members. No one but the pilots knew the plane had been hijacked until it landed.[3][7]
[edit] See also
- Janjaweed
- Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad
- Chadian People's Revolutionary Movement
- Justice and Equality Movement
- Central African War
- Chadian-Sudanese conflict
[edit] References
- ^ Chad rebels face attacks, warn of wider war VOA News
- ^ a b Chad arrests Sudan plane hijacker BBC News
- ^ a b Hijacker surrenders plane in Chad CBS News
- ^ a b Sudan plane hijacker surrenders in Chad Sun-Sentinel
- ^ a b c Soldiers seize hijacker of Sudan plane in Chad Channel News Asia
- ^ Troops seize armed hijacker of Sudanese plane News
- ^ Hijacked plane lands in Chad IOL
