Turkey has conducted a formal military funeral for five senior Libyan officers who died in a devastating plane crash earlier this week. The ceremony underscores the close, yet complex, military partnership between the two nations amid ongoing efforts to stabilise Libya.
Ceremony for the Fallen Officers
The funeral took place at 08:00 local time on Sunday at the Murted Airfield base near Ankara. The caskets of the five officers, each draped in the Libyan national flag, were honoured in a ceremony attended by Turkey's defence minister and the country's military chief, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. Following the service, the bodies were loaded onto an aircraft to be repatriated to Libya.
Details of the Fatal Crash
The officers were killed when their private jet crashed on Tuesday shortly after departing from Ankara, Turkey's capital. All on board perished, including General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, the military chief of western Libya, four other officers, and three crew members. Libyan authorities have stated a technical malfunction caused the tragedy.
The high-level delegation was returning to Tripoli after holding defence talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation. General al-Haddad was a pivotal figure in U.N.-brokered efforts to unify Libya's fractured military.
Investigation and Regional Implications
The bodies were identified at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute using DNA comparison with family members who flew in from Libya. In a move to ensure impartiality, Turkey has asked Germany to help examine the aircraft's black boxes.
This incident occurs against a backdrop of prolonged instability in Libya, which has been split between rival eastern and western administrations since the 2011 uprising. Turkey is the main international backer of the western government but has recently sought to improve relations with the eastern administration. The loss of General al-Haddad is a significant blow to the fragile political and military reconciliation process.
