Ankara, Turkey, 24 December (H.S.): Libya's chief of general staff, Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, and four high-ranking officers met a tragic end alongside three crew members when their Falcon 50 business jet catastrophically crashed into a remote field south of Ankara on Tuesday evening, officials from both nations confirmed amid a burgeoning joint investigation.

The aircraft departed Esenboğa Airport at approximately 8:10 p.m. local time, bound for Tripoli, but radio contact severed at 8:52 p.m. after the pilots reported an electrical malfunction and signaled for an emergency return landing near Haymana district, 70-75 kilometers southeast of the capital.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya detailed that the jet illuminated the night sky over Kesikkavak village in an apparent explosion, as captured by security cameras and broadcast on local networks, with wreckage scattered across rugged terrain prompting a swift gendarmerie response.

Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran corroborated the sequence, noting preparations for landing at Esenboğa were underway when the plane vanished from radar screens.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, leader of the Tripoli-based U.N.-recognized government, expressed profound grief on Facebook, lamenting the deep sadness and great sorrow of losing al-Haddad—western Libya's preeminent military commander pivotal to U.N.-brokered unification efforts—and his delegation as a great loss during their return from official duties.

Esteemed Victims and Strategic Ankara SojournAl-Haddad, architect of military cohesion amid Libya's east-west schism, perished with Major General Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, ground forces commander; Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, director of the military manufacturing authority; advisor Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab; and photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub—all linchpins in the western command.

Crew identities await release as forensic teams process remains in the austere crash locale.The delegation's Ankara itinerary featured high-level parleys with Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel, and Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, advancing bilateral military ties under a 2019 security pact—timed hours after Turkey's parliament extended troop mandates in Libya by two years.

These engagements underscored Ankara's alliance with Tripoli against eastern rivals, navigating Libya's post-2011 turmoil following Muammar Gaddafi's fall.Probe Intensifies Amid Airspace ChaosTurkey's Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç mobilized five prosecutors—one deputy chief overseeing four—under Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for a meticulous inquiry into technical lapses, maintenance, and potential sabotage, though initial assessments lean toward malfunction.

Esenboğa shuttered briefly, diverting flights, as Libyan investigators joined Turkish rescuers transitioning to recovery operations.The incident ripples through Libya's volatile fault lines, where foreign-backed militias perpetuate division, potentially derailing fragile truces.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar