Syrian pilot defects to Jordan, gets asylum

First defection with military plane in uprising against Assads regime; shelling continues

A Syrian air force pilot flew his MiG-21 fighter plane over the border to Jordan and was granted political asylum on Thursday, the first defection with a military aircraft since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

The pilot landed at the King Hussein military air base 80 km northeast of Amman and immediately asked for sanctuary, Jordanian officials told Reuters. “The cabinet has decided to grant the Syrian pilot political asylum upon his request,” Jordan’s Minister of State for Information Samih al-Maaytah told Reuters.

Syria’s defence ministry called the pilot a “traitor to his country and his military honour”.In a statement it said it would punish the man, named as Colonel Hassan Hamada, under military law. Syria was in contact with Jordanian authorities to retrieve the aircraft, it added.

The defection will boost the morale of the rebel movement fighting Assad at a time when government forces are intensifying efforts to crush the uprising and international peace efforts are stalled.

Thousands of soldiers have deserted government ranks in the 15 months since the revolt broke out and they now form the backbone of the rebel army. But unlike last year’s uprisings in Libya and Yemen, no members of Assad’s inner circle have broken with him.

Elsewhere on Thursday, the Syrian army maintained its bombardment of downtown areas of Homs even though a temporary truce had been agreed to allow aid workers to evacuate the sick and wounded.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its aid workers had been forced to turn back on the way into Homs old city because of shooting but would try again later in the day. “The shelling across the city has been relentless since last night, intensifying this morning. The army has no intention of relieving the humanitarian situation. They want Homs destroyed,” activist Abu Salah said from Homs.