On the evening of December 23, according to DW, a tragedy occurred involving a business jet that took off from Esenboğa Airport in Ankara heading to Tripoli. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported that the wreckage of the plane was found two kilometers south of the village of Kesikkavak in the Haymana district.
According to Libyan authorities, all those on board, including al-Haddad, were killed.
Contact with the Falcon 50 aircraft was lost approximately 40 minutes after takeoff, Yerlikaya added. Also on board were the commander of the Libyan ground forces, the director of military production, an advisor, and al-Haddad's photographer.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah described the incident as a "tragic accident," emphasizing that it is a "great loss" for the country.
According to the AP agency, al-Haddad held a key position in the army of western Libya and was an important figure in efforts to unify the country's divided military forces.
The Libyan government confirmed that Dbeibah instructed the Minister of Defense to send an official delegation to Ankara to oversee the investigation, as reported by the "Russian service of the BBC."
Libya's Minister for Political Affairs Walid El-Lafi stated that the plane was rented in Malta, but there is insufficient information about its owner and technical condition.
Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced al-Haddad's visit, during which he met with Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and other high-ranking military officials.
The incident occurred just a day after the Turkish parliament approved a mandate for the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya, which was initiated at the request of the internationally recognized government of the country.
The situation in Libya remains complex, as power is divided between the eastern and western parts. Turkey actively supports the government in Tripoli while also establishing connections with the eastern region, where the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar is dominant.
In 2020, Ankara sent military personnel to train and support Libyan forces and signed a maritime demarcation agreement that is contested by Egypt and Greece. In 2022, Turkey and Libya signed a preliminary agreement on energy resource exploration, which has also faced criticism from these countries.
