Ankara: Libya’s top military commander and seven others lost their lives on Tuesday when a private aircraft crashed shortly after departing from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, officials from both countries confirmed.
The jet, a Falcon 50 business aircraft, was carrying Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four senior Libyan military officials and three crew members when it went down while en route back to Libya. Authorities said all eight people on board were killed in the accident, which is believed to have been caused by a technical failure.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths in a statement, describing the incident as a “tragic accident” and calling the loss of senior military leadership a major blow to the country. The delegation had been in Ankara for high-level defence discussions aimed at strengthening military cooperation between Libya and Turkey.
Al-Haddad served as the chief military commander in western Libya and was a central figure in United Nations-backed efforts to reunify the country’s fractured armed forces. His death is expected to have significant implications for Libya’s fragile security and political landscape.
The other officers killed were identified as Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, head of Libya’s ground forces; Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, who led the military manufacturing authority; Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, an adviser to the chief of staff; and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer. The names of the three crew members were not immediately released.
Turkish officials said air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft roughly 40 minutes after it took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at around 8:30 pm. According to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the jet transmitted an emergency signal near Haymana, about 70 kilometres south of the capital, before communication was completely cut off.
Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey’s presidential communications office, said the pilot had reported an electrical problem and requested an emergency landing. The aircraft was cleared to return to Esenboga, but it vanished from radar while descending. Wreckage was later located near the village of Kesikkavak in the Haymana district.
Television footage aired locally showed a sudden flash lighting up the night sky in the area where the crash occurred, suggesting a mid-air explosion or impact.
In response to the incident, Ankara’s airport was temporarily shut down, with several flights diverted. Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced that four prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the crash, in line with standard procedure for aviation accidents. Libyan authorities said they would send a technical and investigative team to Turkey to assist in the probe.
The fatal visit came just one day after Turkey’s parliament approved a two-year extension of the mandate for Turkish troops stationed in Libya under a 2019 security agreement with the Tripoli-based government.
Libya has remained deeply divided since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, with rival administrations in the east and west supported by competing militias and foreign allies. Turkey has been a key backer of the western-based government, though it has recently sought to ease tensions with eastern authorities.
The deaths of senior military figures are likely to add further uncertainty to Libya’s already complex path toward stability.
