Libyan army chief dies when his plane crashes shortly after takeoff in Ankara and the plane’s signal is lost

The Libyan Government of National Unity (GUN) confirmed this Tuesday the death of the Chief of Staff, Mohamed al Haddad, in a plane crash in Türkiye in which he was traveling with senior Libyan military officials.

“This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military establishment and the entire people,” GUN Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeiba said in a message on the social network X.

Earlier, the Turkish Interior Ministry reported the loss of contact with the plane carrying Haddad, as well as four other passengers, who had to make a trip “emergency descent” near Haymana, about 60 kilometers southwest of Ankara.

The Turkish Defense Ministry earlier announced the Libyan chief of staff’s visit, reporting that he met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, as well as other Turkish military commanders.

Although authorities did not say whether the plane had crashed, footage from Turkish channels showed a flash of light where the plane would have lost contact by radio.

The accident occurred a day after the Turkish Parliament approved a decision to extend the mandate for the deployment of Turkish soldiers in Libya by two years further away.

NATO member Turkey has supported Libya’s internationally recognized government, based in Tripoli, militarily and politically.

In 2020, he sent military personnel there to train and support his government and subsequently concluded a maritime demarcation agreement, contested by Egypt and Greece.

In 2022, Ankara and Tripoli also signed a preliminary agreement on energy exploration, which Egypt and Greece also oppose.

However, Turkey has recently changed course in its policy towards the Libyan Government of National Unity and has also intensified its contacts with Libya’s eastern faction.