Greece fears backlash after hijack
 |  The suspects are escorted by police in Athens on Thursday. |
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|  VIDEO |
 Hijackers release more hostages from a bus in Greece. CNN's Alessio Vinci reports.
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ATHENS, Greece -- The Greek government has appealed for calm, fearing a public backlash against immigrants living in Greece following Wednesday's bus hijacking by two Albanian gunmen.
The 18-hour standoff near Athens ended peacefully early Thursday after police successfully negotiated the gradual release of 23 hostages.
The gunmen, named by the authorities as 24-year-old Albanian immigrants Gaz Resuli and Leonard Murati, surrendered shortly after midnight.
The had been demanding €1 million (U.S.$1.33 million) in ransom and safe passage out the country.
"The fact that two immigrants were the perpetrators of this incident should in no way influence our attitudes or behavior," Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said, according to The Associated Press.
"We are an open and democratic society that makes no distinctions and shuts no one out."
As many as 1 million immigrants live in European Union member Greece, many coming from neighboring Albania.
Observers say relations between the two neighbors have often become tense because of contrasting perceptions of Albanian criminality in Greece and racism facing immigrants living here.
In September, an Albanian fan was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in the clashes following a soccer match. Albania beat Greece in the World Cup qualifying game 2-1.
The hijacked bus was on a route from the town of Marathon, east of Athens, to the city center.
The men set a deadline of 8 a.m. Thursday (0600 GMT) and said the bus would be blown up if their demands were not met.
But at around 12:40 a.m. that morning (2240 GMT), the hijackers threw three guns from a bus window, and moments later the remaining six hostages slowly walked off the bus with their hands held behind their heads.
Anti-terrorist units moved in quickly and seized the bus without firing a shot.
Officials said neither of the hijackers had a criminal record, and they praised relatives of the men who were brought to the standoff site and helped bring an end to the negotiations.
Police Chief George Angelakos said the hijackers were not armed with explosives, as they claimed to have had, and he said ultimately they just wanted money and to go to Albania, not Russia.
The gunmen boarded the bus on its third or fourth stop as it headed toward Athens from the suburb of Marathon around 6 a.m. on Wednesday. The bus was carrying 24 passengers, the driver and a ticket counter.
When the men flashed their rifles, the bus driver immediately stopped the coach and opened the doors, hoping to allow the passengers to escape.
The driver, ticket counter and a female passenger fled safely and alerted police.
As the day passed and the standoff continued, the hijackers began releasing passengers, mostly in batches of two and threes.
But late Wednesday, one of the hijackers, who called himself "Hassan," told a local television station of their demands and set the deadline for the bus to be blown up.
At the time, he said no more hostages would be released unless their demands were met.
Police had ruled out international terrorism earlier in the day, saying the hijackers, believed to be Albanians, were criminals seizing an opportunity.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
