Turkiye holds military ceremony for Libyan army chief killed in crash

A group of Libyan officials, including military chief Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, were honored in a military ceremony in Turkiye in honor of their tragic deaths earlier this week in a plane crash over Turkish territory.

Al-Haddad and four other military officers who were in Turkiye for high-level defense discussions before the crash on Tuesday were honored at the ceremony, which took place on Sunday at Murted Airbase outside the capital, Ankara.

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Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, the country’s military chief, and Yasar Guler, the country’s defense minister, were present at the ceremony. An official funeral will be held there after the Libyan officials’ remains are brought back home.

Following what Libyan officials described as a technical malfunction, the plane carrying the Libyan delegation crashed shortly after taking off from Ankara on Tuesday. Three crew members and all the passengers on board died.

Libya’s highest-ranking military officer, Al-Haddad, played a significant role in the UN-brokered efforts to unite the country’s divided armed forces. Even the opposing factions expressed condolences for his passing.

Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, a journalist from Misrata, Libya, al-Haddad’s hometown, reported that the strong, charismatic leader “always]sought] peace in the country.” He was a peaceful man who enjoyed respect from allies in the nation.

Those who expressed sympathy included Khalifa Haftar, the head of the rival government in eastern Libya, whose forces al-Haddad opposed during a 2019 advance against western Libya.

Haftar expressed “deep sorrow over this tragic loss” in a statement, and he also expressed condolences to the entire Libyan population.

“Big shoes to fill,”

Five coffins adorned with Libyan national flags were loaded onto a plane for repatriation to Libya following the ceremony in Turkiye. Bayraktaroglu, Turkey’s military chief, was also on the aircraft, according to state-run news agency TRT.

After the country’s 2011 uprising, Muammar Gaddafi, a long-time ruler, was toppled and killed, Libya became a rogue state. The east and west have rival governments, supported by a number of rogue militias and various foreign governments, and the country is divided.

Although Turkiye has long supported Libya’s west-based government, she has recently begun to strengthen ties with the administration in the east.