The man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo, and forced it to divert to Cyprus on Tuesday, was described as a “troublemaker” by neighbors.

Seif El-Din Mustafa had claimed to be wearing an explosive belt that authorities said turned out to be fake. He surrendered after hours of negotiations with Cypriot officials that left many stumped as to what his demands were.

There were several reports about Mustafa demanding to see his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus, and that she was called in to help negotiations. Separately, it was reported that Mustafa demanded that Egypt release political prisoners for him to surrender himself and the remaining passengers and crew on board.

According to Egyptian news site Ahram Online, Mustafa had made several phone calls on board “that Egyptian civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said had showed he was not a terrorist but a man with personal and mental problems.”

Speaking to Al Ahram’s Arabic site, one of Mustafa’s neighbors back in Egypt described him as a “troublemaker.”

“His Cypriot wife took their children and flew back home after disagreements between them, so I expect he did all that so he could go to them,” the neighbor, Um Assmaa, was reported as saying.

She added that Mustafa was a “troublemaker” during the time he lived in a Cairo neighborhood, saying he once impersonated someone, prompting the police to take action.

“He was a man of a few words,” said Anwar, another neighbor, speaking to Al Ahram.

Images of Mustafa, believed to have been taken during the hostage situation, show the fake device strapped around his waist.

Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320 flight when it took off, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said.

A Cypriot government spokesman said that the hijacker had been taken into custody after he surrendered.

Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off.

A man leaves the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair at Larnaca airport in Cyprus Tuesday, March 29, 2016.

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