Misrata, Libya – After days of mourning, Libya is laying to rest its army chief, General Mohammed al-Haddad, and four other prominent military figures.
Al-Haddad, his senior adviser, Mohamed al-Essawi, and his military cameraman, Mohamed al-Mahjoub, were transported to their hometown in Misrata on Saturday evening for burial.
Also killed in the aircraft crash in central Turkiye on Tuesday were the commander of army land forces, General Fetouri Ghrebil, and the head of military manufacturing, Mahmoud al-Gedewi, whose remains were moved to their respective hometowns for burial.
The five were returning to the North African country from Ankara after meetings with Turkish defence officials, just a day after the Turkish parliament voted to extend the presence of its troops in Libya, as part of efforts to bolster military cooperation between Turkiye and the internationally recognised government in Tripoli.
Turkish authorities say preliminary investigations suggest a technical failure.
A Libyan military committee went to Ankara on Wednesday to help the investigation. A committee member told media that both countries agreed to transfer the aircraft’s flight recorder to a neutral country for a full investigation.
‘A dreadful scene’
After visiting the site of the crash, sources from the Libyan military committee told media it was a “dreadful scene”, with body parts scattered everywhere.
Identification was so difficult that authorities had to perform DNA testing on the body parts to identify which of the aircraft passengers they belonged to.
It was only after the long, painstaking process was completed that the bodies were finally repatriated to Libya.
A Turkish military ceremony was held in their honour early on Saturday morning, then the bodies were put on an aeroplane for the journey to Libya, but matters became complicated at that point.
The seemingly straightforward matter of holding ceremonies for the deceased became an issue as details like where they would be held were debated hotly in the fractured country.
Is General al-Haddad replaceable?
The Tripoli government is overseen by the Presidential Council, a three-member body that serves as the supreme commander of the military, according to the Libyan Political Agreement.
However, Libya’s rival authorities in the east, controlled by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, do not recognise them, despite the eastern-based parliament signing the agreement.
Al-Haddad was seen by some as a man of peace, well-respected by people across the country, even those he fought against.
He played a crucial role in the fight against Haftar during the latter’s military campaign on Tripoli in 2019, an assault that saw Haftar’s forces on the outskirts of Tripoli.
Under al-Haddad, government forces retook western Libya and forced Haftar back to the east, and al-Haddad helped pave the way for the national ceasefire agreement signed in 2020.
Haftar released a statement saying he was “deeply saddened” by al-Haddad’s death and expressed his condolences to his family.
In May, clashes broke out around Mitiga international airport between government forces and the Special Deterrent Force, a powerful armed group that reports to the Presidential Council and opposes the interim prime minister in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Dbeibah gave the Special Deterrent Force (SDF) an ultimatum to hand over the airport, their prisons, and assimilate into the state security apparatus, or be targeted by the government.
With help and intervention by the Turkish government, a ceasefire was reached, and a truce committee, chaired by al-Haddad, was established by the Presidential Council and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
There is no doubt that finding a replacement for al-Haddad will not be an easy task. The Presidential Council appointed his deputy, General Salah al-Namroush, temporarily.
During his eulogy, al-Namroush “bid farewell to the men of the nation who carried the nation’s burdens and made discipline a way of life and leadership a responsibility”.
He said he would follow in the footsteps of al-Haddad, and pledged “to continue unifying the army”.
Although it will be difficult, political analyst Mohamed Mahfoudh told media: “Discussions are already under way; given the importance of the position, I expect a decision to be made within the next 10 days.”
Libya has seen widespread frustration and recent protests against the government over the economic situation, prompting officials to announce a plan to reshuffle the cabinet earlier this month.
The shuffle was scheduled to be announced on December 24, but al-Haddad’s death postponed that.
“Now, the chief of staff position will be entered into the cabinet reshuffle discussions. That means Haddad’s replacement could be a political decision to appease certain stakeholders, rather than someone who is qualified for the position.
“That’s a fear many of us have,” Mahfoudh said.
A tale of two airports
In an illustration of Libya’s split, the government in Tripoli had to receive the bodies of al-Haddad and other military officials at the city’s international airport, which was destroyed in fighting in 2014.
It is currently under renovation and now serves only government and emergency medical evacuation planes.
However, normally the bodies would have been received at Mitiga international airport, which is now Tripoli’s main commercial airport, but since it is under SDF control, PM Dbeibah could not be there.
He is not welcome.
So, Dbeibah, members of the Presidential Council, and senior government and military officials waited for the bodies at Tripoli international airport.
They were taken to an army base in southern Tripoli for a military ceremony in their honour, where Presidential Council head, Mohamed al-Menfi, declared “the promotion of each martyr to the next rank”, making al-Haddad a field marshal posthumously.
“Field Marshal Mohamed al-Haddad was a cornerstone to protecting the state and maintaining stability,” said Dbeibah at the ceremony.
He assured people that investigations into the crash “are continuing with full accuracy and credibility in coordination with Turkiye”.
Al-Haddad, al-Essawi, and al-Mahjoub’s bodies were flown to their hometowns in Misrata on Saturday evening.
On Sunday morning, people came from all over the country to lay them to rest.
Thousands of people gathered in the Misrata football stadium for a farewell prayer for the departed. Misrata city officials announced the day as an official holiday to give people time off to attend the funeral.
Abdullah Allafi, a tribal leader from al-Rajban in the Nafusa Mountains of western Libya, left home at 3am to drive hundreds of kilometres to pay his respects.
When asked about al-Haddad’s death, he said: “It’s a huge loss. Mohamed al-Haddad’s death is a loss for all of us and for Libya. He was a true patriot. May Allah rest his soul.
“Our presence here is a symbol of unity. Enough divisions, it’s time to come together and build a nation and a united military.”
