Libyan Army Chief Killed in Plane Crash in Turkey

Libya’s army chief, Gen Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, has died in a plane crash in Turkey, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah confirmed late Tuesday.

The general was among five people on board a Falcon 50 business jet that departed Ankara’s Esenboğan Airport on Tuesday evening, bound for Tripoli.

According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at 20:52 local time (17:52 GMT), approximately 42 minutes after takeoff. The jet had issued an emergency landing request moments before communication was severed.

Search teams later discovered the wreckage south-west of Ankara, where investigators are now working to determine the cause of the crash.

Al-Haddad, who had served as Libya’s army chief since 2020, was a central figure in efforts to unify the country’s fractured military institutions amid ongoing political divisions. His sudden death is expected to have significant implications for Libya’s security landscape.

Neither Turkish nor Libyan officials have yet released details about the identities of the other passengers or the circumstances leading to the emergency call.

The Libyan government has declared a period of mourning, while Ankara has pledged full cooperation in the investigation.