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Pilot's Escape from Syria Illustrates Difficulty of Defecting

(Washington Post) Liz Sly - When helicopter pilot Ahmad Trad decided he wanted to defect from the Syrian air force earlier this year, the biggest deterrent was the safety of his family. Slipping away from his base was one thing, but Trad, 30, had to make sure his relatives would not be targeted for revenge attacks once he was gone. Air force pilots are mostly Sunni. Trad said he learned of the defections of eight other helicopter pilots from his base within a week of his own. His misgivings hardened into resolve in February, when his deputy commander, a Sunni, was suddenly and publicly detained on base by officers who were Alawites. "They humiliated him in front of everybody. They beat him and threw a hood on his head. They accused him of spying for Israel and al-Qaeda," Trad said. "It was then that I realized that all Sunnis in the military have this accusation hanging over their heads and that this will happen to all of us at some point."
2012-07-16 00:00:00
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