A Syrian fighter plane has landed at a military air base in the north of Jordan and the pilot has asked for asylum, Jordanian officials say.
Jordan’s Minister of Information Samih al-Maaytah said the pilot of the MiG 21 jet was being debriefed, BBC reports.
Syrian state TV said a fighter plane, flown by an air force colonel, had gone missing during a training mission.
The incident comes as violence has prevented Red Cross teams from moving civilians out of the old city of Homs.
The Russian-made MiG-21 landed at the King Hussein Air Base in Mafraq, close to the Syrian border, officials said.It is believed to be the first such defection by a Syrian pilot with his plane.
A spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, Ahmad Kassem, said the group had encouraged the pilot to defect, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Syrian fighter pilot defects to Jordan
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