TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The hijackers of a plane that took off from Sudan’s Darfur region were releasing passengers today after landing hours earlier at a remote desert airfield in southern Libya, a civil aviation official said.

The official said, however, that crew members were not being allowed off the plane. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Hijackers commandeered the Boeing 737 jetliner, which was carrying 95 passengers and crew, soon after it took off Tuesday from Nyala in the south of Darfur, a vast region where Sudan’s government has been battling rebels since 2003.

The plane, which had been en route to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, was diverted to a World War II-era airstrip in Libya’s Sahara desert oasis of Kufra.

Libya’s official JANA news agency said negotiations between Libyan civil aviation authorities and the hijackers resulted in the release of all passengers. The agency reported there were 87 passengers and eight crew members.