A Sudanese passenger plane was hijacked between the town of Nyala in Darfur and has landed in Kufra in southern Libya.

There are 95 passengers on the plane, a Boeing 737, which belongs to a private local operator Sun Air. It had been bound for Khartoum from Nyala, which is the capital of South Darfur.

Egyptian authorities denied it permission to land and the plane changed course towards Libya, it said.

Communications with the plane were cut off after the hijacking.

The Darfur region has been a conflict area since a rebellion broke out five years ago.

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