Libya’s chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, has died in a plane crash shortly after departing Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, the prime minister of Libya’s UN-recognised government has said.
Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said the aircraft was returning from an official visit to Ankara when the incident occurred, describing the death as a major loss for the country and its armed forces.
“This followed a tragic and painful incident while they were returning from an official trip from the Turkish city of Ankara,” Dbeibah said in a statement. “This grave loss is a great loss for the nation, for the military institution, and for all the people.”
He said the commander of Libya’s ground forces, the head of the military manufacturing authority, an adviser to the chief of staff and a photographer from his office were also on board the aircraft.
Türkiye’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said the jet took off from Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport at 17:10 GMT bound for Tripoli and lost radio contact at 17:52 GMT.
He added the Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft had requested an emergency landing while flying over the Haymana area, but communication could not be re-established.
Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity said the prime minister had instructed the defence minister to send an official delegation to Ankara to follow developments.
Walid Ellafi, Libya’s state minister for political affairs and communication, told broadcaster Libya Alahrar that it was not yet clear when a crash report would be available. He said the aircraft was a leased jet registered in Malta.
Officials did not yet have sufficient information about the aircraft’s ownership or technical history, he added, but said this would be investigated.
The crash came a day after Türkiye’s parliament approved a decision to extend the mandate for the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya by a further two years.
NATO member Türkiye has provided military and political support to Libya’s Tripoli-based, internationally recognised government.
In 2020, Ankara sent military personnel to Libya to train and support its forces and later reached a maritime demarcation agreement with Tripoli, a deal that has been disputed by Egypt and Greece.
The Government of National Unity announced three days of official mourning across Libya.
Türkiye’s defence ministry had earlier said Al-Haddad met Turkish defence officials during his visit, including Defence Minister Yaşar Güler, as part of military consultations between the two countries.
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