Eritrea Macchi fighter jetAn Eritrean opposition group has claimed that 2 Eritrean opposition have defected with their fighter jets to Ethiopia.
According to Nasredin Ahmed Ali, spokesman for the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization based in Ethiopia, the two pilots flew to the northern Ethiopia city of Mekelle Wednesday morning.
The two pilots named as Afeworki Fisehaye and Mebrahtu Tesfamariam are members of Eritrean Air Force the spokesman noted.
Local media reported that the two were accompanied by Ethiopian fighter jets upon their entry into Ethiopian air space.
This is the first time Eritrean pilots have defected to Ethiopia with their jets, but there have been reports of the East African country's pilots defecting to Saudi Arabia since 2012.
