[Regnum] Five people, including crew members, were on board the plane carrying Libya's Chief of General Staff Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, with which contact was lost after takeoff from Ankara Airport. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced this on December 23
That’s the “interm” Government of National Accord (GNA) set up by the UN in 2015 that rules a bit more than a few square blocks of central Tripoli, and since 2019 has been trading Libya’s gold reserves for mostly unpaid and utterly useless Turkic mercenaries — mostly unemployed Muslim Brotherhood fighters from Syria — supplied by Turkey ever since. I suppose President Erdogan summoned them to Istanbul to make their payment in person…"An aircraft near Haymana requested an emergency landing; however, contact with the aircraft was not restored after that. There are five passengers on board, including the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Armed Forces, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad," Yerlikaya wrote on social media.
The private business jet Falcon 50, tail number 9H-DFJ, departed Ankara's Esenboğa Airport for Tripoli at 8:10 PM Moscow time, and contact with it was lost at 8:52 PM Moscow time.
According to Cumhuriyet, there was a flight attendant and two pilots on board. All flights have been suspended at Ankara Airport. Turkish television channel AHaber reported a loud noise near Ankara's Hayman district.
Earlier, the private jet carrying the Libyan Chief of General Staff, departing from Ankara, lost contact. Turkish Interior Minister Yerlikaya confirmed the news.
Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler met with Libyan Chief of Staff Al-Haddad on December 23. The general arrived in Ankara at the invitation of Turkish Chief of Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroglu.
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[FoxNews] Airspace over Turkey’s capital was shut down Tuesday night after a business jet carrying Libya’s top military commander crashed south of Ankara shortly after takeoff, prompting flight diversions, an emergency security response, and an ongoing investigation in a NATO member state.
The temporary shutdown of airspace over Ankara elevated the incident beyond a routine aviation accident. Such measures are typically reserved for situations involving unresolved security risks or the need to secure the nation's capital while authorities assess potential follow-on threats.
Following the loss of contact, Turkish authorities closed Ankara’s airspace as a precaution and diverted multiple commercial flights away from Esenboga Airport, according to Turkish broadcaster NTV and flight tracking data cited by TRT. Search and rescue teams were deployed to the suspected crash area.
The crash came just hours after Al-Haddad concluded an official visit to Ankara. Turkey's Defense Ministry had earlier announced that the Libyan army chief met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Turkish Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and other senior commanders as part of ongoing military and security coordination between Turkey and Libya, according to TRT.
Türkiye Today reported that the visit underscored deepening defense ties between Ankara and Libya’s Tripoli-based government, adding sensitivity to the incident given the seniority of those aboard the aircraft and the timing immediately following high-level meetings.
The prime minister of Libya’s U.N.-recognized Government of National Unity, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, said he had received news of the death of Libya’s army chief of staff after Al-Haddad’s plane lost radio contact above Turkey’s Ankara, Reuters reported.
Dbeibah, who said he was mourning Al-Haddad’s death, added that the army chief had been accompanied by others on board the aircraft, including military officials. No additional details about the other passengers’ identities or conditions were immediately released.
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The Libyan delegation was in Ankara for high-level defense talks aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries, Ottoman Turkish officials said.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the death of Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and the four officers, saying in a statement on Facebook that the "tragic accident" took place as the delegation was returning home. The prime minister called it a "great loss" for Libya.
Al-Haddad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military, which has split, much like Libya’s institutions.
The four other officers who died in the crash were Gen. al-Fitouri Ghraibil, the head of Libya’s ground forces, Brig. Gen. Mahmoud al-Qatawi, who led the military manufacturing authority, Mohammed al-Asawi Diab, advisor to the chief of staff, and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer with the chief of staff’s office.
The identities of the three crew members were not immediately known.
Ottoman Turkish officials said the wreckage of the Falcon 50 type business jet had been found near the village of Kesikkavak, in Haymana, a district some 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) south of Ankara.
Libya plunged into chaos after the country’s 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him...>
. The country split, with rival administrations based in the east and west, backed by an array of rogue militias and foreign governments.
...a NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
member, but not the most reliable...
has been allied with Libya’s government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.
Tuesday’s visit by the Libyan delegation came a day after Turkey’s parliament approved to extend the mandate of Ottoman Turkish troops serving in Libya for two years. Turkey deployed troops following a 2019 security and military cooperation agreement that was reached between Ankara and the Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
-based government.
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