Plane Crash in Turkey Kills Libyan Army Chief, Four Others; Investigation Underway

The chief of staff of the Libyan Army, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, along with four other senior military officials, was killed in a tragic plane crash while returning from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah confirmed.

Expressing deep grief over the incident, Prime Minister Dbeibah said the crash occurred during the delegation’s return from an official visit to Ankara.

“This is a tragic and painful loss for the nation, the military institution, and the Libyan people,” he said in a statement, describing Al-Haddad’s death as a major blow to the country.

According to the Libyan government, those onboard the aircraft included the commander of Libya’s ground forces, the director of the military manufacturing authority, an adviser to the chief of staff, and a photographer from the chief of staff’s office.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the aircraft departed Ankara Airport at 8:10 pm local time. Radio contact with the plane was lost at 8:52 pm. The wreckage was later located near Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc stated that a formal investigation into the incident is currently underway.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) said Prime Minister Dbeibah has instructed the defence minister to dispatch an official delegation to Ankara to closely follow the investigation and related proceedings.

Several Turkish media outlets broadcast footage showing a flash of light in the sky near the area where the aircraft last transmitted a signal. Libya’s Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs, Walid Ellafi, said Turkish authorities officially informed the Libyan government about the crash.

Mohammed Al-Haddad had served as Libya’s chief of general staff since August 2020, following his appointment by then prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj. In the wake of the tragedy, the Libyan government has announced three days of official mourning across the country.

Libya remains politically divided between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, led by Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and the eastern administration aligned with commander Khalifa Haftar.

Turkey, a NATO member, has been a key political and military ally of Libya’s internationally recognised Tripoli-based government.

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