Opposing Libya military leaders meet in Tripoli
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Libya's military leaders are trying to have a united front after opposing each other for years in light of the country's raging conflict.
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Libyan soldiers
The leaders of the opposing Libyan eastern and western camps held an unprecedented meeting in Tripoli on Tuesday, calling for unifying the command of the troops.
Libya is currently split between two governments, one based in Tripoli and has the recognition of the United Nations and the other in the central city of Sirte.
General Abdelrazzak Al-Nadhouri, the deputy chief of the forces loyal to eastern leader Khalifa Haftar, visited Tripoli on Monday and Tuesday for talks with his counterpart in the country's west, General Mohammad Al-Haddad.
"It is necessary to name a single chief of staff for the military institution and begin the reunification of the army," the two officials said in a joint statement.
The meeting reportedly enabled work to progress under the so-called 5+5 military commission, which is comprised of military officials from each of the opposing camps, including on the issue of foreign fighters that were supposed to withdraw from Libya following the ceasefire reached in October 2020.
The two parties also agreed on conducting border patrols, including in the south, to try and mitigate the migrant crisis as well as stem smuggling and trafficking networks.
"I am heartened by the outcome of the meeting between General Haddad and General" Nadhouri, the UN's top Libya envoy Stephanie Williams said on Twitter. "Their spirit of cooperation and compromise is a model for the political class."
"The United Nations commends this important dialogue and continues to support the security track talks, notably through the Joint Military Commission (JMC 5+5), including on the full implementation of the October 2020 ceasefire agreement," the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.
Since the 2011 West-led war on Libya, the country has been split between the two parties, with the rival sides of the conflict concluding their latest round of talks a month ago without reaching a deal to try and set the rules for the country's elections.
The presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya, originally set for December 2021, were supposed to be the result of the UN-sponsored peace process after the last round of violence shook the country from 2019 to 2020. The vote never took place because of deep disagreements between factions.
