Libyan Chief of Staff to be Flown Home

Türkiye’s defence ministry said the authorities will repatriate the remains of Libya’s chief of staff and his advisers on Saturday after a plane crash near Ankara.

General Mohamed Al-Haddad of the Tripoli government, four advisers, and three crew members died when the Falcon 50 jet they were travelling in crashed less than 40 minutes after take-off on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Yasar Guler led a brief ceremony at Murted air base near Ankara, according to a statement posted by the ministry on X.

Investigators recovered the aircraft’s black box from farmland close to the crash site. Turkish officials said an electrical fault caused the incident, but confirmed that a neutral country, possibly Germany, will lead the investigation.

Libyan Chief of Staff (News Central TV) — The Libyan Chief of Staff is to be flown home. Credit: NST Online

A French diplomatic source said two French nationals were among the crew. A Malta-based firm, Harmony Jets, chartered the aircraft and maintains its fleet in Lyon, France.

Libya’s rival administrations—the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity and the eastern authorities in Benghazi led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar—declared three days of national mourning in a rare display of unity.

Libya has faced prolonged instability since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival governments competing for power. Turkey strongly backs the Tripoli administration but has recently sought to improve relations with Haftar.

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