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Russian plane detained in Nigeria on Saturday takes off from Kano airport

“Having obtained a permit from the Nigerian authorities, the plane took off from the airport in Kano and is flying to its original destination,” Artyom Romanov said

© ITAR TASS / Marina Lisceva

RABAT, December 8. /TASS/. Russian cargo plane that was detained in Nigeria on Saturday has been allowed by the local authorities to leave the country and took off from the airport in the town of Kano in northern Nigeria, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Nigeria told TASS on Monday.

“Having obtained a permit from the Nigerian authorities, the plane took off from the airport in Kano and is flying to its original destination,” Artyom Romanov said.

The Russian An-124 cargo plane that was transporting military cargo from the Central African Republic to Chad was detained by the Nigerian authorities after it had made an emergency landing in Kano.

The Russian embassy told TASS earlier that although the detained plane was Russian, the cargo onboard - military equipment - belonged to the French peacemaking mission in Chad. “The Russian cargo plane that was detained in Nigeria on Saturday had been chartered by the French peacekeeping mission in Chad,” the embassy spokesmansaid.

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