[url]http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/us-libya-protests-malta-idUSTRE71K52R20110221[/url]
[img]http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20110221&t=2&i=343243946&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=2011-02-21T193432Z_01_BTRE71K1IDQ00_RTROPTP_0_MALTA[/img]
[quote](Reuters) - Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected on Monday and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.
They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.
The pilots are being questioned by the Maltese police.
The two said they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya's second largest city of Benghazi, the sources said.
Police were also questioning seven passengers who landed in European Union member state Malta from Libya on board two French-registered helicopters.
The government sources said the helicopters left Libya without authorization by the Libyan aviation authorities and that only one of the seven passengers -- who say they are French citizens -- had a passport.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesman could not immediately confirm the information as it was still being verified.
The four-decade rule of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been shaken by days of violent protests which reached the capital Tripoli for the first time on Monday.[/quote]
I'm glad people like this still exist. :unsmith:
[b]UPDATE: Two more pilots refuse to bomb the city, bail out and let the plane crash.[/b]
[quote]— Reuters writes that "a Libyan air force plane crashed near the eastern city of Benghazi after its crew bailed out because they refused to carry out orders to bomb the city, Libya's Quryna newspaper cited a military source as saying."
There's a very rough English translation of that Quryna story here.
— The Associated Press reports that the Swedish tabloid Expressen "says Libya's recently resigned justice minister claims Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988."
Expressen's website is here. The main headline doesn't need translation: "Khadaffi gav order om Lockerbiebomb."
(Update at 2:30 p.m. ET: NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, reporting from eastern Libya, tells us the minister claims Gadhafi was responsible for the decision to bomb the Pan Am jet, but that the minister didn't offer proof for the allegation.)
— The AP also reports that "militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi clamped down in Tripoli, with the sound of gunfire ringing in the air, while protesters who control much of the eastern half of Libya claimed new gains in cities and towns closer to the heart of Gadhafi's regime in the capital."
— NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, who is in eastern Libya, reports that "all through the streets, you see men in uniform — either police or army — but they have basically gone over to the other side. And they are keeping the peace. They're working with pro-democracy forces. They no longer are loyal to Gadhafi."
NPR's Andy Carvin (@acarvin) continues to monitor reports on Twitter about events in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and elsewhere.
Update at 11:55 a.m. ET: From Benghazi, The Guardian's Martin Chulov reports that he has seen "defecting troops pouring into the courtyard of a ransacked police station carrying tonnes of weaponry and ammunition looted from a military armoury to stop it being seized by forces loyal to the Libyan dictator. ... The former Libyan flag, dating from the reign of the monarch ousted by Gaddafi, King Idris, is flying above ransacked government buildings on the waterfront."
And on his Twitter page, Chulov says that "Ghaddafi's house in benghazi ransacked by looters."
(Note: while we follow Associated Press style and write "Moammar Gadhafi," other news outlets spell the Libyan leader's name differently.)
Update at 10:25 a.m. ET: "Protesters in Misurata [Libya] said on Wednesday they had wrested the western city from government control," Al-Jazeera reports. "In a statement on the internet, army officers stationed in the city pledged 'total support for the protesters.' "[/quote]
That's pretty cool. I hope this convinces the rest of them to quit.
I've heard a good bit of soldiers have already defected in Benghazi just before protesters took control. This is awesome.
Bombing protesters sounds fun. If it was a fucking video game.
Glad these people deserted! It's usually a bad thing sure, but not this time!
Bombing protesters? What the hell seriously.
what the fuck
Any videos of jets actually bombing?
no bombs because they defected.
Should have bombed the fascist Gaddafi's lavish capitalist palace first.
[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;28193658]Any videos of jets actually bombing?[/QUOTE]
No, but there are videos of some of the victims.
Not pretty.
Those two pilots are awesome, glad to see that there are still people with a brain in that army.
Wow. Think about how different this story would be if they went through with it.
That's pretty cool. They didn't just leave, but they deprived Ghaddafi of two jets that other pilots could have used against protesters.
I'm really glad to see that at least parts of the Libyan military aren't willing to turn their guns on their own people. Not enough, unfortunately.
(Media'd for large)
[media]http://shots.ikbis.com/image/79137/large/wallpaper_ace_combat_zero_the_belkan_war_02_1024.jpg[/media]
Anyone think of this as soon as they saw the title?
No
Gaddafi really is scum of the earth, i hope someone drops a fucking bomb on him!
[QUOTE=Source;28197657]Gaddafi really is scum of the earth, i hope someone drops a fucking bomb on him![/QUOTE]
Better yet, an anvil.
Good thing, too. Two fully armed fighters would be a humanitarian disaster.
Also, kinda related if you listen to the lyrics:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ[/media]
Edit:
Nevermind, I didn't know that the rest of the airforce was bombing the protesters.
[QUOTE=wuzzimu;28200916]Good thing, too. Two fully armed fighters would be a humanitarian disaster.
Also, kinda related if you listen to the lyrics:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ[/media]
Edit:
Nevermind, I didn't know that the rest of the airforce was bombing the protesters.[/QUOTE]
The song is about a king telling jet fighters to bomb the people listening to rock music, except the jet fighters just listen to the music in their cockpits. Excellent connection, my friend.
General: Go bomb these civilians in the city!
Pilot: What the fuck! You nuts? We will not do it! (so they went AWOL)
But this is the ONLY time when AWOL is acceptable!
Every other, good Libyan soldier should know that shooting Libyan civilians destroys the entire purpose of being in the Libyan Army. You're not protecting your country, you're killing your own people.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;28202410]Every other, good Libyan soldier should know that shooting Libyan civilians destroys the entire purpose of being in the Libyan Army. You're not protecting your country, you're killing your own people.[/QUOTE]
I think the problem is that they're taught that they're defending their country by killing traitors.
I wonder what their reaction to the African Mercenaries they've brought in will be? Those guys are killing anyone and everyone they see.
The purpose of a military is to protect their people, not their leader. Props to these flyboys.
[QUOTE=Fueger;28202989]The purpose of a military is to protect their people, not their leader. Props to these flyboys.[/QUOTE]
Not for some countries.
I hope they get their political asylum.
State Department issued a press release [url]http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/02/156836.htm[/url]
"strongly condemning" "We are working urgently with friends and partners around the world to convey this message to the Libyan government."
Those aren't very strong words...
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