A gunman hijacked a small aid plane in South Sudan on Tuesday, forcing the pilot to fly for several hours before the aircraft landed safely in Wau, authorities said. The suspect was arrested on the runway, and no injuries were reported.
The Cessna Grand Caravan, operated by the U.S.-based Christian relief organisation Samaritan’s Purse, had departed from Juba carrying medical supplies bound for Maiwut in the northeast. Police reported that the gunman, identified as Yasir Mohammed Yusuf, hid in the rear cabin before takeoff.
Yusuf is from the Abyei Administrative Area, a contested oil-rich region claimed by both South Sudan and Sudan. Authorities said his motives remain unclear, particularly why he attempted to divert the aircraft to Chad, which does not share a border with South Sudan.
After circling in the air for several hours, the pilot convinced the hijacker that the aircraft needed refueling and diverted to Wau, where security forces detained him, according to Santino Udol Mayen, police spokesperson for Western Bahr el Ghazal state.
Police noted that the gunman was wearing a reflective vest bearing the logo of an air charter company operating at Juba International Airport. The company’s managing director, Paul Antrobus, stated they employ no one by that name.
In a statement, Samaritan’s Purse spokesperson Melissa Strickland thanked authorities for ensuring a “safe outcome.”
The incident occurred just days after another plane chartered by the same organization crashed in Unity State on 25 November, killing all three crew members.
