TRIPOLI, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Salah al-Namroush, deputy chief of staff of the Libyan army, will serve as the army's temporary chief of staff until a new chief is appointed, head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi announced on Tuesday night.

Libya's army chief of staff, Mohammed al-Haddad, and four other military officials were killed when their business jet crashed south of Ankara on Tuesday evening, Libyan and Turkish authorities said.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths, saying al-Haddad and several senior military officials were killed after the aircraft crashed while returning from an official visit to Türkiye. He said the government would investigate "the circumstances of the accident."

Libya's eastern-based Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, expressed its deep condolences over the tragic plane crash on Tuesday.

Libya has remained divided since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The country is split between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the eastern administration backed by the Libyan National Army under the command of Haftar. ■