The chief of staff of the Libyan army, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, was killed in a terrible plane crash on Tuesday close to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. This event caused the whole country to mourn for three days as a tribute to the deceased.
Al-Haddad was traveling in a private jet that lost altitude right after its takeoff from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport. The destination of the aircraft was Tripoli. There were eight passengers in total, four of them being top-ranking Libyan military officers, and the remaining three were the crew; all of them perished in the accident.
The Turkish administration has suggested that the preliminary study indicates a mechanical failure as the accident’s reason, within the same breath, it has also ruled out sabotage as a possible cause.The aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 50, was reported by the pilot to have an electrical problem and was given the go-ahead to land when contact with the control tower was lost and the plane went off the radar.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the Prime Minister of Libya, issued a statement that confirmed the death, referring to the incident as a “tragic accident” and a huge loss for the country and its military society. He praised al-Haddad and the other officers for their dedication, discipline and service to the country.
Among those killed were General Al-Fitouri Gharibil, head of Libya’s ground forces; Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, chief of the Military Manufacturing Authority; Muhammad Al-Asawi Diab, adviser to the chief of staff; and Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer.
The Libyan delegation had been in Ankara for high-level defence talks aimed at strengthening military cooperation between Libya and Turkey. The occurrence took place immediately after Turkey’s parliament decided to extend the presence of Turkish soldiers in Libya for another two years.
The UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) proclaimed three days of mourning with the flags of the country at half-mast and no public celebrations allowed. The mourning will also see the sending of a team from Libya to Turkey that will be assisting the inquiry.
Al-Haddad, who got the position of Chief of Staff in August 2020, was one of the main players in the UN-endorsed initiatives that tried to reconcile the political divide in Libya. He was often considered a neutral person and even a unifier who held back the influence of the warring factions and facilitated the awakening of national unity.
From all over Libya, condolences came in, even from the eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and MPs in Benghazi, which was a reflection of the wide respect al-Haddad had, even in the midst of the country’s deep divisions.
A formal investigation was opened by the Turkish prosecutors while the officials repeated that the preliminary findings indicate that the crash cause has been mechanical failure.
