Africa News
Heroic Libyan pilots return to Malta to retrieve aircraft
Jan 9, 2012, 17:35 GMT
Valletta, Malta - The two Libyan air force pilots who became heroes when they refused to orders to bomb civilians during the uprising against the regime of Moamer Gaddafi returned to Malta on Monday to retrieve their fighter jets.
Ali al-Rabti and Abdullah al-Salheen arrived on the Mediterranean island onboard a Libyan Air Cargo Antonov 26, officials said.
In February, they had used their Mirage jets to defect and were granted protection in Malta. They said they had refused to participate in the bombing of a village.
Their act of defiance provided some of the first tangible evidence that Gaddafi's forces were targeting civilians in an attempt to crush the uprising - a situation which prompted the United Nations to declare a no-fly zone over Libya.
The pilots were greeted as heroes when they returned to Tripoli in September.
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