Libya honors late army chief as bodies repatriated from Turkiye

Libya held official ceremonies on Saturday to receive the bodies of its late army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad and his companions, who were killed in a plane crash in Turkiye earlier this week.



The remains were flown to Tripoli International Airport, where they were received by senior Libyan officials including head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah.



Al-Menfi posthumously promoted al-Haddad to the rank of "Field Marshal" in recognition of his service.



Dbeibah pledged a thorough investigation into the crash, saying Libyan authorities are working closely with Turkiye to uncover the full circumstances.



Earlier on Saturday, a military farewell ceremony was held at the Murted Air Base in Turkiye's Ankara, attended by top Turkish officials including Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, who later traveled to Libya for the repatriation ceremony.



Al-Haddad and four other Libyan military officials were killed on Tuesday when their business jet crashed south of Ankara.



Al-Haddad had been in the Turkish capital for high-level military talks before the incident.