Libyan Army Chief of Staff Buried in Misrata Following Funeral Rites

Libyan Military Officials Buried After Aircraft Crash in Turkey

Five prominent Libyan military officials, including army chief General Mohammed al-Haddad, were laid to rest in their hometowns in Misrata on Saturday. The deceased also included Mohamed al-Essawi, his senior adviser; Mohamed al-Mahjoub, a military cameraman; General Fetouri Ghrebil, commander of army land forces; and Mahmoud al-Gedewi, head of military manufacturing.

The officials were returning to Libya from Ankara after meetings with Turkish defense officials on Tuesday when the aircraft crashed in central Turkey. Preliminary investigations suggest a technical failure. A Libyan military committee assisted in the investigation, which involved transferring the aircraft’s flight recorder to a neutral country for further examination.

The crash site was described as a “dreadful scene” by sources from the Libyan military committee, with body parts scattered throughout the area. Identification of the victims was challenging and required DNA testing on the body parts before they could be repatriated to Libya.

A Turkish military ceremony was held in honor of the deceased officials early Saturday morning. However, the logistics of transporting their bodies to Libya became complicated due to disagreements over where ceremonies would be held. The Tripoli government, which oversees the Presidential Council, a three-member body that serves as the supreme commander of the military, has been recognized by some Libyan factions.

General al-Haddad was seen as a respected figure in Libya, having played a key role in the fight against rival military commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces during his 2019 assault on Tripoli. The government forces retook western Libya and forced Haftar back to the east under al-Haddad’s leadership. A national ceasefire agreement signed in 2020 was also facilitated by al-Haddad.

Haftar released a statement expressing his condolences to al-Haddad’s family, while the Libyan government has appointed General Salah al-Namroush as a temporary replacement for the deceased official.

Source: Al Jazeera