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Turkiye’s defence ministry had announced the Libyan chief of staff’s visit to Ankara earlier this week.
Published On 23 Dec 2025
Radio contact has been lost with a jet carrying Libya’s army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four other people near the Turkish capital Ankara, Turkiye’s Interior Ministry says.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that the Falcon 50 business jet had taken off at 8:10pm local time (17:10 GMT) on Tuesday and radio contact was lost at 8:52pm (17:52 GMT).
He said the flight, which was en route from Ankara to Tripoli, had made a request for an emergency landing while over the Haymana district of Ankara, but no contact was established afterwards.
Turkiye’s defence ministry had announced the Libyan chief of staff’s visit to Ankara earlier this week, saying he had met his Turkish counterpart and other military commanders.
Flight tracking data showed flights being diverted away from Ankara’s Esenboga airport.
While officials did not say whether the plane had crashed, footage on Turkish broadcasters showed a flash of light where the jet was said to have lost radio contact.
There was no immediate comment from Libyan officials.
More to come…
