Libya’s Army chief, four others killed in air crash in Turkey

TRIPOLI: Libya’s Army Chief of Staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four others were killed in an air crash near Turkey’s capital city, Ankara, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said.

Prime Minister Dbeibah termed it a “tragic accident”, stating that the crash occurred on Tuesday while the officials were returning from a visit to Turkey, as reported by Al Jazeera.

“This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military establishment, and all the people, as we have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication and were an example of discipline, responsibility, and national commitment”, he said in the statement.

The Libyan army chief has been killed in an air crash in Turkey, Libya’s prime minister has said.

Gen Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad and four others were on board a Falcon 50 aircraft flying out of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday evening.

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He said that the other people killed in the crash were the ground forces chief of staff, Al-Fitouri Gharibil, the director of the Military Manufacturing Authority, Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, an adviser to al-Haddad, Muhammad Al-Asawi Diab, and a military photographer, Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.

A senior Turkish official said that three crew members were also killed in the crash, adding that the aircraft had sought an emergency landing after reporting an electrical malfunction, as reported by Al Jazeera.

“A private jet carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad, four members of his entourage and three crew members reported an emergency to the air traffic control centre due to an electrical failure, asking for an emergency landing”, Burhanettin Duran, head of the presidency’s communications directorate, said on X.

A Turkish official told Al Jazeera, “Initial reports from the investigation rule out any sabotage to the Libyan Army Chief plane crash, initial cause is technical failure”.

Turkiye’s Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, “The wreckage of the business jet that departed Ankara’s Esenboga airport for Tripoli has been located by Turkish gendarmerie approximately two kilometres south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district.”

Libya’s Army Chief of Staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad he had met his Turkish counterpart and other military commanders during his visit. (ANI)