African news explained
Eritrean Air Force pilot claims asylum in Saudi Arabia
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Play - 05:45
Eritrean Air Force pilot, Rahwa Gebrekristos, has defected and claimed asylum in Saudi Arabia. She was part of a delegation sent to the western city of Jizan in Saudi Arabia last week to recover the Eritrean presidential plane that was stranded there. Two of her former colleagues had secretly flown President Isaias Afewerki's plane to Saudi Arabia last October. They also claimed asylum there, leaving the aircraft in Saudi possession. RFI spoke to Luul Kebreab, a former pilot of the Eritrean Air Force who also defected to Saudi Arabia in 2004. He recalls his own experience.
