Completion of Forensic Procedures to Transfer the Bodies of the Libyan Chief of Staff and His Companions

SadaNews - The Anadolu Agency reported the completion of the forensic procedures related to the late Libyan Chief of Staff Mohammed Al-Haddad and his accompanying delegation, following the crash of their aircraft in the Turkish capital Ankara.

According to the agency, after completing the procedures at the Forensic Institute in Ankara, the bodies of the members of the Libyan delegation were transferred to the ceremony hall at the Murted Air Base in the Kazan region of the Turkish capital. After official ceremonies are held at the base, the bodies will be sent back to their homeland.

The Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army, Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Al-Haddad, and four of his companions were killed in the crash of the aircraft shortly after it took off from Ankara Airport last Tuesday evening.

Libya's Minister of State for Communications Walid Al-Lafi stated that the crashed plane was not Libyan, but rather rented, pointing out that the aircraft reported a technical malfunction to the control tower shortly after takeoff.

Al-Lafi added that all indications suggest that the cause of the crash was a technical failure, noting that the Chief of Staff was on an official mission in Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart.

Leadership and Efforts

Al-Haddad is considered one of the most prominent military leaders in Libya since the February 17, 2011 revolution, as he was one of the officers who confronted the brigades of the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in the city of Misrata, and he played a key role in confronting the attack by retired Major General Khalifa Haftar's forces on the capital Tripoli in 2019.

Al-Haddad, who hails from Misrata (about 200 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli), has held the position of Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army since 2020, and he played a pivotal role in efforts to unify the military institution, participating in meetings of the Joint Military Committee (5+5).

His name emerged during the defense against the attack on Tripoli, in addition to his participation in containing several armed conflicts that have occurred in the capital and regions in western Libya, making him a significant figure in the military and political landscape within the Government of National Unity.