Al-Haddad’s fatal crash: technical failure or something more?

The Chief of the Libyan Army, Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, along with four military officials and three crew members, died in a plane crash near Ankara on Tuesday. Consequently, three days of national mourning were declared in Libya.

Turkish officials stated that, according to initial investigations, technical issues may have been the sole cause of the crash. Nevertheless, the possibility of sabotage cannot be entirely ruled out.

His death occurred at a geopolitically delicate moment, just a few hours after the Turkish parliament in Ankara had ratified the renewal of Turkey’s military mission in Libya. Although Al-Haddad maintained good relations with Turkey, he had increasingly expressed support for limiting the presence of foreign military forces in Libya in order to strengthen national sovereignty, advocating for the unity of the country.

In addition, according to local sources, in the days preceding the accident, he reportedly had heated discussions with Turkish officers over the reduction of the foreign military contingent.

Al-Haddad was a central figure in the ongoing United Nations–brokered negotiations to unify the country, which has been divided since 2014 following the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

On the one hand, western Libya, with Tripoli as its capital, is openly supported by Turkey, Italy, Qatar, the United States, and the European Union. On the other hand, eastern Libya has received support from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

To conclude, his sudden death leaves a significant void in Libya’s fragile military and political environment, casting doubt on the viability of national unification efforts and affecting the balance of power between domestic and foreign actors.

Benedetta Zimone