Libya’s governor, General Mohammed al-Haddad, and four other well-known military figures are laid to rest in Misrata, Libya, after days of mourning.
Al-Haddad, Mohamed al-Essawi, his senior adviser, Mohamed al-Mahjoub, and his military cameraman, Mohamed al-Mahjoub, were buried in Misrata on Saturday night.
General Fetouri Ghrebil, the head of military manufacturing, and Mahmoud al-Gedewi, the commander of the army’s land forces, were the other victims of the Tuesday aircraft crash in central Turkiye. Their remains were transported to their respective hometowns for burial.
Following meetings with Turkish defense officials in the north African nation, the five returned to the country from Ankara the day after the Turkish parliament approved extending Turkey’s troops’ presence in Libya in an effort to promote international cooperation between Turkiye and Tripoli.
Turkish authorities claim preliminary investigations point to a technical issue.
On Wednesday, a military committee from Libya visited Ankara to assist with the investigation. A committee member informed Al Jazeera that both nations agreed to transfer the aircraft’s flight recorder to a neutral nation for a thorough investigation.
A terrible scene, to put it mildly.
Sources from the Libyan military committee told Al Jazeera that the crash was a “dreadful scene” with body parts scattered everywhere after they visited the location.
Authorities had to put DNA tests on the body parts to determine which airline passenger they were identifying because it was so difficult to identify them.
The bodies were only finally repatriated to Libya after the lengthy, laborious process was finished.
The bodies were loaded onto an airplane for their journey to Libya early on Saturday morning, but things got complicated at that point. First, a Turkish military ceremony was held in their honor.
As local laws and regulations were debatable in the divided nation, the seemingly simple matter of holding funerals for the deceased became a problem.
Can General al-Haddad be replaced?
According to the Libyan Political Agreement, the Presidential Council, a three-member body that is the supreme military commander, oversees the Tripoli government.
Despite the eastern-based parliament signing the deal, Libya’s rival authorities in the east, led by rebel leader Khalifa Haftar, do not recognize them.
Some people viewed Al-Haddad as a peaceable dictator who enjoyed the respect of allies in the nation.
He played a significant part in the Haftar-led military offensive against him in Tripoli in 2019, which saw the latter’s forces stationed on the outskirts of the city.
Government forces retook western Libya and forced Haftar to the east under al-Haddad’s rule, and al-Haddad helped secure the 2020 national ceasefire agreement.
Haftar expressed his condolences to his family in a statement that said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of al-Haddad.
Government forces and the Special Deterrent Force, a powerful armed group that is opposed to the interim interim prime minister in Tripoli, clashed in May around Mitiga International Airport.
The Special Deterrent Force (SDF) was given the ultimatum to hand over the airport, their prisons, and integrate into the state security apparatus if the government wanted to be targeted.
The Turkish government intervened and reached a ceasefire, and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Presidential Council established a truce committee.
It is undoubtedly difficult to find a replacement for al-Haddad. General Salah al-Namroush, his deputy, was temporarily appointed by the presidential council.
Al-Namroush’s eulogy “bid farewell to the men of the nation who carried the burdens of the nation and gave discipline a way of life and a responsibility to lead.”
He pledged to continue “unifying the army” and would follow in the footsteps of al-Haddad.
Political analyst Mohamed Mahfoudh stated to Al Jazeera, “I expect a decision to be made within the next ten days, given the importance of the position, given the already-going discussions.”
Officials in Libya announced earlier this month that they planned to reshuffle the cabinet following widespread outcry and recent protests against the government.
The shuffle was supposed to be made public on December 24, but al-Haddad’s passing delayed that.
The cabinet reshuffle discussion will now include the appointment of the chief of staff. Therefore, Haddad’s replacement might be someone with the skills to fill the position rather than someone with the credentials to do so.
That’s a worry that many of us have, Mahfoudh said.
A tale of two airports
The government in Tripoli had to pick up the bodies of al-Haddad and other military personnel at the city’s international airport, which was destroyed in 2014 fighting, as an illustration of Libya’s division.
It is currently being renovated, and it currently only functions government and emergency medical evacuation aircraft.
However, PM Dbeibah was unable to attend Mitiga International Airport, which is now Tripoli’s main commercial airport, because it is under the control of SDF.
He won’t be welcomed.
At Tripoli International Airport, Dbeibah, members of the Presidential Council, and senior government and military personnel also waited for the bodies.
They were transported to a military base in southern Tripoli for a ceremony in honor of Mohamed al-Menfi, the head of the Presidential Council, who declared “the promotion of each martyr to the next rank,” making al-Haddad a field marshal posthumously.
At the ceremony, Dbeibah remarked that Field Marshal Mohamed al-Haddad was a fundamental figure in maintaining stability and protecting the state.
He assured the public that Turkiye and his investigation into the crash are still conducting their fullest and most reliable investigations.
On Saturday night, the bodies of Al-Haddad, al-Essawi, and al-Mahjoub were transported to their Misrata hometowns.
People from all over the nation gathered on Sunday morning to pay their respects.
In the Misrata football stadium, hundreds of people prayed a final farewell to the deceased. In order to give people time to relax before the funeral, Misrata City officials declared the day as an official holiday.
Abdullah Allafi, a tribal leader from western Libya’s Nafusa Mountains, drove hundreds of kilometers to pay his respects at 3am from home.
When asked about the death of al-Haddad, he responded, “It’s a huge loss. We all suffer loss from Mohamed al-Haddad’s passing, and so does Libya. He had a sincere patriotism. Allah, rest his soul.
Source: Aljazeera
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