Libya's military chief dies in plane crash in Turkey

Libya's military chief was returning home after attending meetings in Turkey. Four other people were on board.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah on Tuesday confirmed the death of Libyan military chief Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and four others in a plane crash in Turkey. 

Turkey's interior minister said earlier that air traffic controllers lost contact with a Dassault Falcon 50-type jet carrying the Libyan military chief and others home after a visit to Turkey.

The plane departed from Ankara's Esenboga Airport at 8:10 p.m. local time, Ali Yerlikaya posted to X. Contact with the jet was lost 40 minutes after, he said.

Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency's communications directorate, said the private jet had reported a technical failure, requesting an emergency landing as a result.

The plane then lost contact with air traffic control before crashing 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) south of Ankara.

Ankara holds close relations with the UN-backed Libyan government, and provides the Tripoli-based administration with military support.

Libya's prime minister confirms death of country's military chief

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said in a statement on Facebook that the "tragic accident" took place as the Libyan delegation was "returning from an official trip to Ankara."

The other four passengers on board were identified as Al-Haddad's advisor Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, Major General Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, advisor Mahmoud al-Qatiwi, and photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.

Libya has been ravaged by a civil war since the fall of Moammer Gadhafi in 2011.

The North African country has suffered from inner power struggles, also involving foreign states, with Dbeibah's government being based in the west, while Prime Minister Osama Hammad's rival government, which has Russia's support, being located in the east.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar