A Sudanese man armed with a knife hijacked a Sudan Airways plane from Libya yesterday and asked that it be flown to South Africa but the pilot convinced him to allow the plane to land in Khartoum, officials said.

The hijacker was arrested by special forces after the aircraft landed safely in the Sudanese capital, a civil aviation authority official said.

"The hijacker burst into the pilot's cabin about one-and-a-half hours from landing and told the captain he wanted to meet the British ambassador, then he asked to meet the American ambassador and the media," Abdel Hafiz Abdel-Rahim told Reuters.

"Snipers dressed as journalists then took him into custody," he added. The plane, which was carrying 210 passengers, began its journey in Tripoli.

Police released a statement later saying the hijacker was "mentally ill" and trying to take the plane to South Africa but the pilot persuaded him to land in Khartoum.

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