HIBAPRESS – Agencies
The Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, announced the death of the Libyan Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Muhammad al-Haddad, after contact was lost with his plane over Ankara.
Dbeibeh mourned the companions of al-Haddad who were on board the plane, including the Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces, Lieutenant General Al-Fitouri Ghreibil, the Director of the Military Manufacturing Apparatus, Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Qatawi, the Advisor to the Chief of General Staff of the Libyan Army, Professor Muhammad al-Assawi Diab, and the photographer at the media office of the Chief of General Staff, Professor Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, describing the incident as a "tragic catastrophe." Dbeibeh affirmed that this affliction represents a great loss for the nation, the military institution, and the Libyan people, indicating that all the victims were exemplary in discipline, responsibility, and national commitment. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday evening the loss of contact with the Falcon 50 private plane bearing the number 9H-DFJ shortly after its takeoff from Ankara Esenboga Airport, heading to Tripoli, noting that the plane was carrying five people, including the Libyan Army Chief of Staff. He added that the plane requested an emergency landing from the vicinity of the Haymana area, but contact was then lost before its wreckage was later found. Libyan media quoted the Minister of State for Communication as saying that the official results are awaiting the Turkish side, with the possibility of the plane crashing. Reuters confirmed that al-Haddad's visit to Ankara was scheduled in advance, where he met his Turkish counterpart and a number of military leaders, while the airspace over Ankara was closed after the incident, and the sound of an explosion was heard in the area, while television channels broadcast images of a massive explosion near the airport after the plane took off. Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali al-Haddad was officially received today by Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, in the presence of the Commander of the Ground Forces, Metin Tokal.
