The two Mirage jets landed at Malta International Airport shortly after two civilian helicopters landed carrying seven people who said they were French. A military source familiar with the situation said the passengers had left in such a hurry that only one had a passport.

The source, who insisted he not be identified further, said the jet pilots — both Libyan air force colonels — had communicated from the air that they wanted political asylum. They had left from a base near Tripoli and had flown low over Libyan airspace to avoid detection, the source said.

The aircraft remained at Malta’s airport, away from the commercial area, while the pilots and helicopter passengers were being questioned by airport immigration officials, the source said.

After a week of protests, anti-government unrest spread Monday to the capital Tripoli with clashes in Tripoli’s main square for the first time. European governments and oil and gas companies were evacuating their citizens.

The four-decade-old rule of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has been shaken by days of violent protests which reached the capital Tripoli for the first time on Monday.
 

In Stockholm, three local employees at the Libyan Embassy say they have resigned in protest over the government’s crackdown on demonstrators.

The three men announced their resignation in a letter Monday to Swedish news agency TT “condemning the genocide of civilians in Libya” and urged other embassy workers to follow suit.

One of them, Sayed Jalabi, told the AP “It would be hypocritical to assist the Libyan government while we see them attacking people in the streets.” Jalabi said he had worked as a translator at the embassy since 2004.

He said the other two were Hamid Kassem, a worker at the consular section, and Abdelali Mahfouf, a receptionist. All three are Swedish citizens.

No one at the Libyan Embassy answered calls seeking comment on Monday.