The military chief of Libya has been killed alongside four others in a plane crash in Turkey.
Wreckage has been found after a small private jet carrying General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al Haddad crashed near Ankara, the Turkish government said.
In a statement, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibeh said the loss of Haddad, chief of staff of the Libyan army, was a “great loss to the homeland”.
He said General Haddad’s adviser, Mohammed al Asawi Diab, was also killed, along with General Al-Fitouri Ghraibil – chief of staff of Libya’s ground forces, General Mahmoud al Qatawi – director of the Military Industrialization Organisation, and military photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.
Posting on X, Mr Dbeibeh wrote: “This tragic and painful incident occurred during their return from an official trip from the Turkish city of Ankara.
“This grave affliction is a great loss to the homeland, to the military institution, and to all the sons of the people, as we have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication, and who were an example of discipline, responsibility, and national commitment.
“Our deepest condolences and sincere solace to the families of those we have lost, and to their comrades in the armed forces.”
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General Haddad had met with Turkish defence minister Yasar Guler and Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders, Turkey’s defence ministry said.
His Falcon 50-type jet took off from Esenboga airport in the capital, Ankara, at 8.30pm, according to the Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya.
Shortly after, the plane issued an emergency landing signal near Haymana, south of the city, before communication was lost.
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General Haddad, the top military commander in western Libya, was crucial to ongoing UN-backed efforts to unify the country’s military, which has split.
Libya itself is split, with rival administrations in the east and west, after the nation descended into anarchy following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
Mr Dbeibeh runs the internationally-recognised Tripoli-based government in the west, while former Gaddafi commander Khalifa Haftar runs a military dictatorship in the east.
