Libyan Army Chief Killed in Air Crash in Turkey

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Ankara/Tripoli: Libya’s army chief, Gen Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, was killed along with four others in an air crash in Turkey, Libya’s prime minister has confirmed.

The victims were travelling on a Falcon 50 business jet that departed from Ankara on Tuesday evening bound for Tripoli. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said contact with the aircraft was lost at 8:52pm local time (17:52 GMT), around 42 minutes after take-off, after the jet had issued an emergency landing request.

The wreckage was later located south-west of Ankara, near the village of Kesikkavak in the Haymana district. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash. Yerlikaya said the public would be informed as further details emerge.

In Libya, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh of the internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) confirmed the deaths of Gen Haddad and other senior military officials on board the aircraft. Describing the incident as a “great loss,” Dbeibeh said Libya had “lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication.”

Gen Haddad and his delegation had been in Turkey for talks aimed at strengthening military and security cooperation between the two countries.

Turkey has played a key role in Libya since intervening in 2019 to support the Tripoli-based government against forces from eastern Libya, and has since developed close political, military and economic ties with the country.