Libyan security forces have reportedly killed some 1,000 people during the pro-democracy demonstrations against the authoritarian reign of the 68-year-old leader.
The pilots, who claimed to be high-ranking colonels from the Okba bin Nafe base close to Tripoli, requested political asylum, and the government is considering their requests, a Maltese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.
The pair said they defected after receiving orders to bomb protesters in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Libya's second biggest city and the locus of revolts since February 15.
Earlier this week another fighter pilot disobeyed orders to bomb Benghazi and ditched his plane after he and his co-pilot ejected, a report said.
The island of Malta is the closest European nation to Libya, separated by just 350 kilometers (210 miles).
Meanwhile, two Irish Air Corps planes deployed to evacuate Irish citizens from revolution-hit Libya have landed in Valletta airport, in Malta, after it was forced out of Tripoli without any passengers.
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