Syrian Pilot Defects in His MiG
A Syrian fighter pilot landed his MiG-21 at Jordan’s King Hussein military base Thursday morning after abandoning a training exercise. His defection is believed to be the first involving a Syrian military aircraft since the uprising began 16 months ago.
A Syrian fighter pilot landed his MiG-21 at Jordan’s King Hussein military base Thursday morning after abandoning a training exercise. His defection is believed to be the first involving a Syrian military aircraft since the uprising began 16 months ago.
The event will complicate Syrian-Jordanian relations. Jordan has received upward of 125,000 Syrian refugees, including military and police officials whom the Syrian government have asked to be returned. The countries did an estimated $470 million in trade in 2011 and, lacking access to the Mediterranean, Jordan is dependent on routes through Syria for exports.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...BBC:
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.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Middle East
Whatever Donald Trump's motivations for the move might be, this is a clear win for the Syrian people.
Military
It probably won't lead to the violence and humiliation of other botched departures, including from the same region in 2019.
Opinion
Revisiting the inter-left debate on the Assad regime with a specific eye to the staunch moralists who supported his overthrow.
Editorial Cartoons
TD Original
After the fall of Assad, Turkey has intensified its attacks on the Kurds. As usual, Washington is standing by its NATO ally in Ankara.
Middle East
Benjamin Netanyahu abandons Israel’s 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria, as Israeli forces take positions inside sovereign Syria.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.