ERITREAN PILOTS DEFECT WITH FIGHTER JETS

Two Eritrean pilots have defected with their fighter jets to neighbouring Ethiopia, an Eritrean opposition group confirmed Thursday, in a dramatic exit from one of the world’s most closed-off states.

Ethiopian fighter jets accompanied them upon their entry into the country’s air space, the group said. This is the first time Eritrean pilots have defected to Ethiopia with their jets, but there have been reports of the country’s pilots defecting to Saudi Arabia since 2012.

Eritrea’s government has been under criticism for what a UN commission of inquiry has said are numerous abuses including enslavement, rape and torture.

President Isaias Afwerki is described by rights groups as increasingly repressive in the country of about six million.