(Dec 23, 2014, (ADDIS ABABA), (Reuters)))--An Ethiopian air force pilot has defected to Eritrea, flying a helicopter across the border with his co-pilot and a technician, Ethiopian state-run media said on Tuesday. The three men had been missing since Friday morning soon after leaving their base on a routine training session, Ethiopian Television reported.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been locked in a border dispute for years and routinely accuse each other of backing rebels trying to destabilise and topple the other's government - a legacy from the two-year war they fought in the late 1990s.
"The military helicopter landed in Eritrea, flown by a traitor pilot who forced both his co-pilot and a technician while they took part in a training exercise," the report said, citing a defence ministry statement. It did not give further details.
No official from either side was available for comment, but reports from pro-Eritrean government outlets and those of opposition groups said the helicopter was an MI-35 gunship. Ethiopia says the spat over the demarcation of their shared border following the 1998-2000 war would only be solved through a negotiated settlement. Read more from Daily Mail »
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been locked in a border dispute for years and routinely accuse each other of backing rebels trying to destabilise and topple the other's government - a legacy from the two-year war they fought in the late 1990s.
"The military helicopter landed in Eritrea, flown by a traitor pilot who forced both his co-pilot and a technician while they took part in a training exercise," the report said, citing a defence ministry statement. It did not give further details.
No official from either side was available for comment, but reports from pro-Eritrean government outlets and those of opposition groups said the helicopter was an MI-35 gunship. Ethiopia says the spat over the demarcation of their shared border following the 1998-2000 war would only be solved through a negotiated settlement. Read more from Daily Mail »
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