Ankara: A plane carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four other passengers has crashed outside Ankara after take-off, killing everyone on board, Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh said on Tuesday. Al-Haddad and his four companions died in a ‘tragic and painful accident’ on their way back from an official visit to Turkey. Dbeibeh said he received the news ‘with profound sorrow and deep sadness.’
According to Ghana News Agency, contact with the Falcon 50 business jet was lost approximately 40 minutes after take-off from Ankara’s Esenboga airport. Prior to the crash, an emergency landing report had been received. Turkish media reported that the airspace above Ankara was closed to flights, and Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that the wreckage has been found.
Further Libyan media reports indicate that, in addition to Chief of Staff al-Haddad, his adviser and other high-ranking military officials were also on board. Al-Haddad had been in Turkey for meetings with Turkish officials, as Ankara is seen as a key supporter of the government in Tripoli.
Libya has been embroiled in civil war since the fall of long-time dictator Moamer Gaddafi in 2011. Today, the country is divided, with militias and foreign states vying for control of power and resources. The government led by Dbeibeh is based in the west, while a rival government, supported by renegade General Khalifa Haftar and Russia, operates from the east under Prime Minister Osama Hammad.