Istanbul, Dec 23, (dpa/GNA) – A plane carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four other passengers has crashed outside Ankara after take-off, killing everyone on board, Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh said on Tuesday.
Al-Haddad and his four companions died in a “tragic and painful accident” on their way back from an official visit to Turkey. Dbeibeh said he received the news “with profound sorrow and deep sadness.”
Contact with the Falcon 50 business jet was lost after approximately 40 minutes of flight time after take-off from Ankara’s Esenboga airport. An emergency landing report had been received prior to this.
According to Turkish media reports, the airspace above Ankara was closed to flights. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the wreckage has been found.
According to Libyan media reports, in addition to Chief of Staff al-Haddad, his adviser and other high-ranking military officials were also on board.
Al-Haddad had met with Turkish officials in Turkey. Ankara is considered the most important supporter of the government in Tripoli.
Libya was ravaged by civil war for many years after the fall of long-time dictator Moamer Gaddafi in 2011.
Today, the North African country, where militias and foreign states continue to struggle for power and resources, is effectively divided.
The Dbeibeh government is based in the west, while the rival government of Prime Minister Osama Hammad, supported by renegade General Khalifa Haftar and Russia, is based in the east.
GNA