Web Desk (MNN); Libya’s Chief of Army Staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, along with four other Libyan officials, was killed in a plane crash near the Turkish capital, Ankara, Libya’s prime minister confirmed on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah described the incident as a “tragic accident” that occurred while the delegation was returning from an official visit to Ankara.
In a statement, he said the loss was a major blow to the nation and the military institution, paying tribute to the victims for serving their country with dedication, discipline and a strong sense of national duty.
Turkish authorities earlier reported that radio contact had been lost with the Falcon 50 business jet shortly after it took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport for Tripoli.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya later confirmed that the wreckage of the aircraft had been found about two kilometres south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district, around 74 kilometres from Ankara.
According to Yerlikaya, the aircraft departed at 8:10pm local time and contact was lost at 8:52pm after the crew requested an emergency landing while flying over the Haymana area. No further communication could be established.
Several Turkish media outlets aired footage showing a bright explosion in the sky near the area from where the aircraft last transmitted a signal. Turkey’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office had launched a formal investigation into the crash.
Al-Haddad was in Ankara for meetings with senior Turkish military officials, including his counterpart, as part of ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries. His visit had been officially announced by Turkey’s Ministry of Defence earlier this week.
Political analysts say the crash comes at a sensitive time, just a day after Turkey’s parliament approved a two-year extension of the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya, underlining the close military and political ties between Ankara and the UN-backed government in Tripoli.
