A senior military delegation. A private jet. An emergency signal—and silence.
TRIPOLI / ANKARA — Libya’s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Al-Haddad, was killed Tuesday evening in a plane crash in Turkey while returning from an official military visit to Ankara, Libyan and Turkish officials confirmed, dealing a severe blow to Libya’s fragile security establishment.
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah announced the deaths in a statement, calling the incident a “tragic accident” and offering condolences to the families of the victims and to the nation’s armed forces.
“With great sadness and sorrow, we have received the news of the death of the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army and his companions,” al-Dbeibah said, describing the loss as a national tragedy.
Turkish authorities said the Falcon 50 business jet carrying Al-Haddad lost contact shortly after departing Ankara’s Esenboga Airport. According to Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the aircraft transmitted an emergency landing alert near the Haymana district, roughly 80 kilometers southwest of Ankara, before all communication was lost.
Turkey’s communications directorate later said the jet requested an emergency landing due to an “electrical failure.” Wreckage was discovered early Wednesday morning near Kesikkavak village, where Turkish military teams reached the crash site. The aircraft’s black box and cockpit voice recorder were recovered and will be analyzed as part of an official investigation.
Turkish media reported that the jet’s three-member crew were French nationals.
The crash occurred just hours after Al-Haddad was formally received in Ankara with full military honors. He had held high-level talks with Turkish Chief of the General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, underscoring the depth of military cooperation between Turkey and Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Unity.
Turkey’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc confirmed that a comprehensive investigation has been launched, stating authorities would examine “all aspects” of the incident.
Al-Haddad was one of Libya’s most senior and influential military figures during a period marked by deep political division, rival armed factions, and heavy foreign involvement. His sudden death removes a key pillar of continuity in Libya’s already fragile security architecture, raising new questions about stability at a moment when the country remains without a unified national army.
