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 Ankara, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said.

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

“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,” Dbeibah said in a statement.

Those killed alongside al-Haddad included Ground Forces Chief of Staff Al-Fitouri Gharibil, Director of the Military Manufacturing Authority Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, al-Haddad’s adviser Muhammad Al-Asawi Diab, and military photographer Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.

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

“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 and requested an emergency landing,” Burhanettin Duran, head of Türkiye’s Presidency Communications Directorate, said in a post on X.

A Turkish official told Al Jazeera that initial findings from the investigation ruled out sabotage. “The initial cause appears to be a technical failure,” the official said.

Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that the wreckage of the business jet, which had departed Ankara’s Esenboga Airport for Tripoli, was located by Turkish gendarmerie around two kilometres south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district.

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Libya’s Army Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad had met his Turkish counterpart and other senior military commanders during his visit to Turkey, officials said.