Tripoli, December 24, 2025 – The Europe Today: Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) on Tuesday declared three days of national mourning following the deaths of army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four senior military officials in a plane crash near Ankara, Türkiye.
In a statement, the government expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to their colleagues in the Libyan Armed Forces, according to media reports. It said all state institutions would lower flags to half-mast, while official ceremonies and celebrations would be suspended throughout the mourning period.
The private jet carrying the officials crashed shortly after taking off from Ankara on Tuesday. Turkish gendarmerie units later located the wreckage of the Falcon 50 aircraft near Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths, stating that al-Haddad and several senior military officials were killed while returning from an official visit to Türkiye. He added that the government would investigate “the circumstances of the accident.”
Also on Tuesday, Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, extended its condolences over the tragic crash.
Libya has remained politically divided since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi, with the country split between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by the Libyan National Army under Haftar.
