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.
France has approved its 2026 budget after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Monday, ending...
Rome has begun charging tourists 2 euros to step down to the Trevi Fountain’s basin area, a measure aimed at easing overtourism and funding maintena...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new trade agreement with India that will see Washington reduce tariffs on Indian imports, after New ...
President Ilham Aliyev met President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the two leaders reaf...
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday for renewed discussions on Iran’s nu...
France has approved its 2026 budget after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Monday, ending months of political tension that had unsettled investors.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new trade agreement with India that will see Washington reduce tariffs on Indian imports, after New Delhi pledged to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.
President Ilham Aliyev met President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the two leaders reaffirmed that Azerbaijan–UAE ties are built on a strategic partnership.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday for renewed discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to reporting by Axios.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Dmitry Medvedev, said European countries have failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine and have instead inflicted serious economic damage on themselves, as he criticised EU policy, praised Donald Trump as a leader who seeks peace, and said Russia would “soon” achieve military victory in the war.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any U.S. military attack on Iran would spark a wider regional conflict, Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
U.S. president Donald Trump said Iran is “seriously talking” with the United States and expressed hope that negotiations could lead to an outcome acceptable to Washington.
Nigeria has filed 57 terrorism-related charges against nine men accused of planning and executing a June 2025 attack in Benue state that killed about 150 people.
France has approved its 2026 budget after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Monday, ending months of political tension that had unsettled investors.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new trade agreement with India that will see Washington reduce tariffs on Indian imports, after New Delhi pledged to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.
Yanis Varoufakis delivered a blunt assessment: the European Union has missed every major chance to reform, poisoned its own democratic debate and is now entering a prolonged period of structural decline.
The Kremlin has confirmed that the next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States will be held in Abu Dhabi on 4–5 February, after the meeting was postponed last week to align the schedules of all delegations.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment