Lt. Gen. Muhammad Ali al-Haddad, the head of Libya’s army staff, died in a jet crash on Tuesday while departing from Ankara to Libya. The military head, four other Libyan officials, and three crew members were on board. The business jet Dassault Falcon 50 took off at 17:10 GMT and lost radio contact forty minutes later, according to Turkish officials.
While flying over the Haymana regions, the aircraft also signaled an emergency landing however, the contact was lost at 17:52 GMT. Later, the wreckage was found in the Haymana district of Ankara, close to the village of Kesikkavak.
All eight people on board including the head of Libya’s land forces Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, who led the military manufacturing authority, Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, advisor to the chief of staff, and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer with the chief of staff’s office, and three crew members have been killed in the crash. The Libyan delegation was in Ankara for defense talks, said Turkish officials.
The prime Minister of Libya Abdul Hamid Dbeibah announced three days of national mourning and confirmed al-Haddad’s death as a “great loss.” Libya’s unity government said it would send a delegation to Ankara to work with Turkish authorities on the investigation.
According to the Turkish investigators the jet’s black box had been recovered for analysis and it is too early to know the cause. Security cameras showed a flash in the sky near the crash site, but the authorities warned that the investigation is going on and have no evidence of sabotage.
Lt. Gen. Al-Haddad was the most senior military commander of UN-backed western government in Libya. He had been working on UN-led efforts to unify the country’s armed forces. After the fall of Muhammad Gaddafi Libya remains divided in two governments one in west, the internationally recognized and one east led by General Haftar.
Under a 2019 security agreement Turkey has been a major supporter of Tripoli government, sending military aid. On Monday a two-year extension of Turkish military mission in Libya was approved by Turkish legislators. After this incident both Tripoli and Ankara pledge support to inquiry and wait for its finding.