Senior military officials of the opposing administrations are committed to unifying the chain of command in Libya

The infrequent meeting is applauded by the UN, which says that “it is a model for the political class”

July 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Senior military officials from the conflicting administrations in Libya have held an infrequent meeting in the capital, Tripoli, in which they have asked to proceed with the unification of the hand chain to try to move towards a solution to the crisis, in the midst of a rebound of the tensions that threaten to lead again to armed confrontations.

Abdelrazak al Naduri, ‘number two’ of the forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar –aligned with the authorities based in the east of the country–, has met in recent days with his counterpart in the forces based in Tripoli — loyal to the internationally recognized unity government–, Mohamad al-Hadad.

In a joint statement after the meeting, both parties have shown their “total rejection” of the disputes between Libyans and have highlighted their “support” for the civil State and the “distancing” of the military from the differences on the political level. In this sense, they have called for “realistic steps” to unify the hand chain and develop “joint training programs.”

They also explained that the activation of the joint force agreed within the framework of the ceasefire agreement of October 2020 has been approved, as well as a plan to carry out border patrols to deal with terrorism and irregular migration. , before betting on a “national reconciliation program”.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has applauded the meeting, which it has described as “an important dialogue” and has stressed that “it continues to support talks on the security track, mainly through the Joint Military Commission in a 5+5 format, including the full implementation of the October 2020 ceasefire agreement”.

The head of the mission, Stephanie Williams, has said in a message on her account on the social network Twitter that she is “encouraged” by “the results of the meeting between Al Hadad and Al Naduri”, while stressing that she is developing the hard work of the Joint Military Commission since the ceasefire agreement”. “His spirit of cooperation and his commitment is a model for the political class”, he concluded.

The talks on the military track are part of a three-way process promoted to try to end the conflict in the country, deepened after the postponement of the presidential elections scheduled for December 2021. The House of Representatives, based in the east, affirmed After that, the mandate of the Prime Minister of Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, had expired and he appointed Fazi Bashaga as his replacement.

The unity government has rejected the decision of the House of Representatives, which represents a setback for the efforts to end the conflict, and has maintained that Dbeibé will remain in office to implement his new ‘road map’, which contemplated the holding of legislative elections in June, preceded by a constitutional referendum that generates a legal framework for holding the elections, although it has not taken place.

Dbeibé was elected as prime minister by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in February 2021, thereby replacing the then unity prime minister, Fayez Serraj, who agreed to cede his powers after the consultation process, initiated after a ceasefire agreement after the Tripoli authorities rejected the military offensive launched in April 2019 by General Khalifa Haftar, aligned with the authorities based in the east.