The remains of General Muhammad Ali al-Haddad, the head of Libya’s armed forces, along with those of four advisers and three crew members who perished in a plane crash, are scheduled to be repatriated on Saturday. The Falcon 50 jet they were onboard crashed shortly after take-off from Ankara, Turkey, on December 23, 2025.
Turkish officials confirmed that the crash occurred less than forty minutes after departure. The wreckage was found in the Haymana district near Ankara, and the plane’s black box was located on farmland near the site. Initial investigations suggest an electrical failure, with further inquiries to be conducted by a neutral country, potentially Germany.
A short ceremony to honor the deceased was held at the Murted air base, presided over by Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler. The tragedy has prompted both the Tripoli-based government and the rival government in Benghazi, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to observe three days of national mourning, a rare instance of unity in the politically fractured country.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has faced ongoing instability, with competing factions vying for power. Turkey supports the Tripoli government but has attempted to strengthen ties with Haftar in recent years.
