The head of Libya’s armed forces has been killed alongside senior military officials after their private jet crashed shortly after take-off from Ankara, dealing a blow to UN-backed unification efforts.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah has confirmed the death of General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, the country’s Chief of General Staff, in a plane crash in central Turkey. The Dassault Falcon 50 business jet carrying al-Haddad and seven others went down on Tuesday evening (23 December) in the Haymana district, about 70 kilometers south of Ankara, after a reported technical malfunction.
The delegation was returning to Tripoli after high-level defense talks in the Turkish capital aimed at boosting military cooperation and bringing together Libya’s fractured security institutions. According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the aircraft left Esenboğa Airport at 8:10 PM local time. About 40 minutes into the flight, the crew sent out an emergency landing signal citing an electrical failure before all communication stopped at 8:52 PM.
The crash killed all eight people on board. The victims identified include:
- Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad: Chief of General Staff.
- Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil: Head of Libya’s Ground Forces.
- Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi: Director of the Military Manufacturing Authority.
- Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab: Advisor to the Chief of Staff.
- Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub: Military photographer.
- Three Crew Members: Reported to be French nationals.
Turkish gendarmerie forces found the wreckage near the village of Kesikkavak. Security camera footage from the area reportedly showed the night sky suddenly lit up by a large explosion as the aircraft came down during its attempted emergency landing.
“This tragic and painful incident… is a great loss for the nation, the military institution, and all the people,” Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said in a Facebook address. He described the fallen officers as “men who served their country with sincerity and dedication.”
Turkish Presidential Communications Head Burhanettin Duran noted that initial reports from the ongoing investigation “rule out any sabotage” and point toward a catastrophic technical failure.
General al-Haddad was the top military commander in western Libya and a key figure in the UN-brokered efforts to unify the country’s divided military. Since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by various armed groups. Al-Haddad had been working closely with Turkish counterparts to professionalize the Libyan army and bridge the gap between regional factions.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry has assigned four prosecutors to investigate the crash. A Libyan technical team is expected to arrive in Ankara today to work with Turkish authorities on a full investigation into the aircraft’s maintenance history. The jet was reportedly leased and registered in Malta (tail number 9H-DFJ).
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