Somali police arrest passenger who attacked Turkish Airlines crew

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Somali police on Monday announced the arrest of a passenger of Turkey's flag carrier allegedly involved in an attack on a crew member.

Police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters in the capital Mogadishu that the incident took place late on Sunday and the police were able to respond to the situation at the Aden Adde International Airport after a scuffle between passengers and crew members inside the airline.

"Some of the passengers and crew fought inside the plane shortly after landing and one of the crew members was injured," said Hassan, adding that the injured staff member was "taken to one of the hospitals in Mogadishu and is in good health."

A Somalia-based official of Turkish Airlines confirmed the incident to Anadolu Agency, describing it as small but "unfortunate."

He said the group of passengers involved in the fighting had been deported from Turkey.

"Over 20 passengers who were deported by authorities in Turkey was involved, but some Somali elders onboard intervened before the security forces arrived at the scene and took over the situation."

Turkish Airlines was the first international carrier that began operating in Somalia after a long civil war that erupted in the Horn of Africa country in 1990.