A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief, four other officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane. The Libyan delegation was in Ankara for high-level defence talks aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries, Turkish officials said. Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military, which has split, much like Libya’s institutions. Turkey deployed troops following a 2019 security and military cooperation agreement that was reached between Ankara and the Tripoli-based government.

Source: Libya Today December 23, 2025 21:17 UTC