00:00Libya's Army Chief of Staff has died in a plane crash in Turkey, according to
00:29officials from the country's internationally recognized government.
00:34The aircraft went down shortly after departing Ankara, killing General Muhammad Ali Ahad al-Hadad
00:40and others on board.
00:43Authorities in both Libya and Turkey have launched investigations into the cause of
00:47the crash.
00:49Libya's internationally recognized government confirmed that General Muhammad Ali Ahad al-Hadad
00:55died after the aircraft he was traveling on crashed shortly after departing Turkey's
01:00capital, Ankara.
01:02Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dabeba called the incident tragic and painful, describing
01:08it as a great loss for the military and the country.
01:12Officials said four others were also on board the jet.
01:15They included Libya's ground forces commander, the head of the military manufacturing authority,
01:21an advisor to the Chief of Staff, and a photographer from his office.
01:25All were returning from an official visit to Turkey when the crash occurred.
01:30Turkey's Interior Minister said the Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft took off from Ankara's
01:36Esenboga Airport at 510 GMT heading for Tripoli.
01:41Radio contact was lost roughly 40 minutes later.
01:44The wreckage was later found near a village in Ankara's Haimana district.
01:50Turkey's revealed the aircraft had requested an emergency landing while flying over Haimana.
01:55However, communication could not be re-established before the crash.
02:00The cause of the accident remains unclear, and Turkey's Justice Minister has confirmed a
02:05formal investigation is now underway.
02:08In response, Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity ordered an official delegation
02:14to Ankara to follow developments closely.
02:17The government also declared three days of national mourning to honor the victims of the crash.
02:22The crash came just days after Haddad held meetings with senior Turkish defense officials,
02:28including Turkey's defense minister.
02:31It also followed a major political development, Turkey's parliament extending the deployment of
02:36Turkish troops in Libya by two more years.
02:39Turkey and NATO member has been a key military and political backer of Libya's Tripoli-based
02:45government since 2020.
02:47The two countries have signed security, maritime, and energy agreements, some of which are disputed
02:53by Egypt and Greece.
02:55In recent months, Ankara has also expanded outreach to Libya's eastern factions.
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