On Saturday, Turkey held a formal military funeral at Mürted Airfield Command in Ankara to honor five high-ranking Libyan officials killed in a plane crash earlier this week. The ceremony serves as a solemn marker of the defense partnership between Ankara and Tripoli.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Key Highlights of the Ceremony
The event was attended by Turkey’s top defense leadership, including Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu.
- Honors: The victims were given full military honors before their caskets, draped in Libyan flags, were transported to a Turkish military plane.
- Diplomatic Gesture: In a show of solidarity, Gen. Bayraktaroğlu traveled with the remains to Libya to participate in the subsequent funeral services in Tripoli.
The Victims: A Significant Loss for Libya
The crash claimed the lives of eight people in total—three crew members and five members of the military delegation. The loss is particularly impactful as it included Libya’s top-tier military leadership:
- Gen. Mohammed Ali Al-Haddad: Chief of General Staff.
- Lt. Gen. Futuri Gribel: Land Forces Commander.
- Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Juma El Giteviy: Director of Military Factories.
- Adviser Mohammed Assavi and Photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.
Incident Overview & Investigation
The delegation was departing Ankara following high-level meetings regarding bilateral military cooperation.
| Detail | Information |
| Aircraft Type | Dassault Falcon 50 (Private Jet) |
| Departure Point | Esenboğa Airport, Ankara |
| Crash Site | Near Kesikkavak village, Haymana district |
| Preliminary Cause | Reported technical/electrical failure shortly after takeoff |
Current Status: Turkish authorities have recovered the aircraft’s black boxes. To ensure a transparent inquiry, Turkey has invited German aviation experts to lead the independent technical analysis of the flight data.
