Libyan Pilots Crash Aircraft, Refuse to Bomb Benghazi

Two pilots of a Libyan military aircraft have decided to crash the plane, rather than follow orders and bomb the city of Benghazi. Photo by EPA/BGNES

A Libyan military aircraft has crashed near Benghazi after the crew refused to follow the orders and bomb the city.

CNN reported Wednesday, citing Libya's Quryna newspaper, that the pilot Attia Abdel Salem al Abdali and co-pilot Ali Omar Gaddafi parachuted out of the Russian-made Sukhoi-22 plane and the aircraft crashed in an uninhibited area, 160 km southwest of Benghazi.

Quryna is believed to be Libya's most reliable newspaper. Although owned by a media group linked to Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, it has begun to report openly on the recent protests against the 42-year rule of leader Muammar Gaddafi.

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