An armed man holding 23 children and three adult staff members hostage in a day-care center in eastern Luxembourg has demanded an aircraft to take him to Libya. Luxembourg's interior minister told a media conference in the village of Wasserbillig, that he had given orders to end the siege without violence. The 39-year-old hostage-taker, described as an Algerian, has been negotiating with the authorities through a psychiatrist.
The drama was apparently sparked when the man's custody of his children, who were enrolled in the day-care centre, was withdrawn by authorities. He initially took 40 children hostage, but released 17 children aged under five years soon afterwards.
