The World - News from Aug. 18, 1986

Two South Yemeni MIG fighters intercepted a Djibouti airliner over the Red Sea and forced it to land at Aden airport, officials in Djibouti said. Terming the act “piracy,” Djibouti said it was suspending its air and sea ties to South Yemen. In Aden, guards made the 59 passengers disembark and kept the Boeing 720 on the ground for four hours while they searched it for political opponents, particularly supporters of deposed President Ali Nasser Hasani, informed sources said. Hussein Kassem Ahmed, an associate of Hasani, was aboard the plane, which was en route to Djibouti from Yemen’s capital, Sana, they said. He was allowed to depart with the rest of the passengers after the pilot refused to leave without him, the sources added.