Erdogan expressed his condolences for the death of the Libyan military delegation as a result of the plane crash in the Haymana region of Ankara, the presidential administration indicated after a call with the Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, as reported by the Anadolu Agency.

The Falcon 50 aircraft, carrying five Libyan military personnel and three crew members, crashed shortly after taking off from Esenboga Airport en route to Tripoli, after reporting an emergency. Turkish authorities located the wreckage and recovered the black box in the early hours of the morning.

The Libyan Government of National Accord declared three days of national mourning for the loss of the high-ranking military commander, who maintained close cooperative ties with Turkey.

Erdogan’s swift reaction underscores the strategic importance Turkey attaches to its relationship with the Tripoli authorities, in a context of competition for influence in North Africa and disputes over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.

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