The head of Libya’s armed forces and seven others were killed when their business jet crashed shortly after departing from Turkey’s capital on Tuesday evening, marking a significant loss for the North African nation’s military leadership.
Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad, who served as chief of general staff of the Libyan army, died alongside four senior military officials and three crew members when their Falcon 50 aircraft went down in the Haymana district near Ankara. Turkish security personnel located the wreckage following an intensive search operation.
According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the aircraft departed from Ankara’s Esenboga airport at 1710 GMT on Tuesday. Contact with the jet was lost 42 minutes into the flight, despite the pilot issuing an emergency landing notification. The plane had requested permission to make an emergency landing approximately 74 kilometres from Ankara, but communication could not be re-established.
Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey’s presidency’s communications directorate, revealed that the aircraft reported an electrical failure to air traffic control 16 minutes after takeoff. “The jet carried eight passengers, including Haddad, four members of his entourage and three crew members, and reported an emergency to the air traffic control centre due to an electrical failure, asking for an emergency landing,” Duran stated on social media platform X.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah expressed profound grief over the incident. “It is with deep sadness and great sorrow that we learnt of the death of the Libyan army’s chief of general staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The tragedy occurred as al-Haddad was returning to Tripoli following high-level military discussions in Ankara. Earlier on Tuesday, he had held talks with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and his Turkish counterpart, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, as part of ongoing diplomatic and military cooperation between the two nations.
Turkish media outlets broadcast images showing an explosion illuminating the night sky near the crash site. Burhan Cicek, a local resident of Haymana, described the moment of impact. “I heard a big sound of explosion. It was like a bomb,” he told AFP.
Among those who perished were Major General Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, Major General Mohammed Jumaa, al-Haddad’s adviser Mohammed Al-Assawi, and their escort Mohammed Al-Mahjoub, according to Walid Ellafi, Libya’s minister of state for communication and political affairs. “All contact with the aircraft was lost about half an hour after takeoff from Ankara airport due to a technical problem,” Ellafi told local television channel Libya al-Ahrar.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed that the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident to determine the precise cause of the crash. The inquiry will examine all aspects of the electrical failure that reportedly prompted the emergency landing request.
Al-Haddad had served as the army’s chief of general staff since August 2020, appointed during the tenure of then-prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj. His position placed him at the centre of military affairs in a nation that has remained politically divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Libya continues to be split between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Dbeibah, and the rival administration in the east controlled by Commander Khalifa Haftar. This political fragmentation has characterised Libyan governance for over a decade, complicating efforts towards national reconciliation and stability.
Turkey maintains close ties with the UN-backed government in Tripoli, providing substantial economic and military support. The relationship has been marked by frequent high-level visits between officials from both nations. However, Ankara has recently expanded its diplomatic outreach to include Libya’s eastern administration, with Ibrahim Kalin, head of Turkey’s intelligence agency, meeting with Haftar in Benghazi in August.
The crash represents a significant setback for Libya’s military command structure and raises questions about continuity in leadership during a critical period for the nation. Libya’s ambassador to Ankara was present at the crash site, underscoring the diplomatic significance of the tragedy.
The incident also highlights the inherent risks faced by senior officials travelling for diplomatic and military engagements. The loss of multiple high-ranking officers in a single incident creates a substantial gap in Libya’s military hierarchy that will need to be addressed swiftly.
