Gunman Hijacks Humanitarian Plane in South Sudan, Arrested After Safe Landing

A gunman in South Sudan hijacked a Samaritan’s Purse medical supply plane after sneaking onboard and demanded to be flown to Chad. The pilot later landed in Wau under the pretext of refuelling, where the suspect was arrested. No one was injured, and authorities are investigating. The incident follows a recent deadly crash involving another aircraft chartered by the same aid group.

A gunman in South Sudan hijacked a small turboprop aircraft belonging to the evangelical humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse on Tuesday, forcing the pilot to divert from its intended route and demanding to be flown to Chad. According to police authorities, the dramatic incident ended several hours later when the suspect was apprehended after the pilot landed the aircraft in a northern town. No passengers, crew, or mission personnel were injured, and investigators have begun probing the circumstances surrounding the hijacking.

The aircraft involved was a Cessna Grand Caravan operated by Samaritan’s Purse, a well-known Christian aid group that carries out medical, nutritional, and humanitarian interventions in several conflict-affected regions of South Sudan. On the morning of the incident, the plane departed Juba, the nation’s capital, transporting vital medical supplies to Maiwut County in the far northeastern part of the country, where the organisation has ongoing health programmes. It was during this routine humanitarian flight that the hijacker revealed himself.

Police reports indicated that the suspect managed to gain access to the aircraft before takeoff by sneaking onboard and hiding in the rear cabin. He was later identified as Yasir Mohammed Yusuf, a resident of the contested Abyei Administrative Area, a resource-rich territory claimed by both South Sudan and Sudan. Authorities stated that his motives remained unclear, including his insistence that the pilot fly the plane to Chad — a neighbouring central African country that is in the region but does not directly border South Sudan.

After the hijacking began, the aircraft remained airborne for several hours. During this tense period, the pilot maintained communication and attempted to manage the situation without endangering lives. Eventually, the pilot informed the armed suspect that the plane required urgent refuelling. This led to a diversion and a safe landing in the northern town of Wau. As soon as the aircraft touched down, security personnel moved swiftly and detained the hijacker without resistance. The arrest was confirmed by Santino Udol Mayen, spokesperson for the Western Bahr el Ghazal state police, who commended the coordinated response of security forces.

Further details emerged as the investigation progressed. Mayen revealed that the suspect had been wearing a reflective vest with the markings of an air charter company that operates flights through Juba International Airport. However, Paul Antrobus, managing director of the company in question, categorically stated that no individual by the suspect’s name had ever been employed by them, suggesting that the vest may have been stolen or used to impersonate staff to gain airport access.

Samaritan’s Purse also issued a written statement following the incident. Spokesperson Melissa Strickland expressed relief and gratitude that the situation ended peacefully and thanked the security agencies for their prompt intervention, which ensured the safety of the pilot and preserved the aircraft.

The hijacking comes just days after a tragic aviation incident involving another Samaritan’s Purse-related flight. On November 25, a plane chartered by the organisation to transport food supplies crashed in Unity State, in northern South Sudan. The aircraft, operated by local company Nari Air, went down and killed all three crew members on board. That earlier tragedy and the latest hijacking have brought renewed attention to the significant risks faced by humanitarian organisations operating in remote and conflict-prone regions of the country.