Summary: A high-level military meeting was held in Sirte, bringing together leaders from eastern and western Libya, under the auspices of the UN mission to the country.
The Libyan city of Sirte hosted the second meeting of its kind between rival military parties, in a move considered by Libyan politicians and analysts as part of efforts to unify the military institution divided between the east and west of the country.
Lieutenant General Khaled Haftar, Chief of General Staff of the Libyan National Army, and Lieutenant General Salah al-Nimrush, Chief of Staff of the forces of the Interim Government of National Unity, met on Sunday for the first time in the city of Sirte.
Khaled Haftar, the future of Nimrush in Sirte on Sunday (from a video published by those close to the General Command in eastern Libya)
Nimrush arrived in Sirte at the head of a military delegation, where he held a meeting that is seen as a step that enhances hopes of unifying the military institution and bringing the two sides of eastern and western Libya closer together.
Saddam Haftar, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, welcomed the meeting of Khaled Haftar and Nimrush in Sirte, which he described as "the city of the homeland." The meeting included a number of Libyan military leaders, including the Secretary-General of the General Command, Lieutenant General Khairy Al-Tamimi, in the presence of members of the Joint Military Committees "5 5" and "3 3", and with the participation of the United Nations Mission.
In a post through a personal account attributed to him on Facebook, Saddam Haftar praised "the positive atmosphere that prevailed in the meeting, the spirit of national responsibility, and the sincere keenness to give priority to the supreme interest of the homeland."
He said that the meeting comes “in the context of national efforts aimed at unifying the military institution and ending the state of division, with the support of international partners.”
He also praised "the efforts of the United States, including the US Military Command in Africa (AFRICOM), along with the UN mission, in supporting efforts aimed at building a unified and professional Libyan military institution, in a way that enhances Libya's security and stability, and preserves its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "
Forces of the Peace Battalion ofthe National Army during a deployment in southeastern Libya (Libyan Army)
He stressed that "the unification of the military institution on a national and professional basis represents a fundamental goal for the protection of the homeland and the preservation of its sovereignty." He added: "We will continue to work with all seriousness and responsibility in order to build strong and effective institutions, protect the territory of Libya and its borders, and consolidate the unity of the national rank, leading to a unified Libyan army capable of performing its tasks in defending the homeland and the citizen."
The meeting of Khaled Haftar and Nimrush comes in light of US diplomatic and military moves aimed at unifying the military, security and economic institutions in Libya, according to an initiative sponsored by Massad Boulos, adviser to US President Donald Trump.
The National Army had previously fought with the Forces of Western Libya, in a war that lasted about 13 months, and ended on the southern gates of Tripoli, before the army forces retreated to the Sirte-Jafra axis, outside the administrative borders of the capital in mid-2020.
Original source: aawsat.com
