Libyan Army Factions Discuss Unification in Cairo

Eastern and western rival factions of the Libyan army arrived in Cairo on Sunday to take part in the sixth round of negotiations to unify the ranks of the Libyan military.

The talks involve the Chief of staff of the General Command of the Libyan National Army Abdel Razek Nadori (LNA), loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar, and Chief of General Staff of the Libyan Army Abdul Rahman al-Tawil, loyal to the UN-recognized government.

The Libyan military reaffirmed that specialized technical committees have been formed to set a new start point to unify Libya’s military institutions.

The political divisions that ensued the collapse of the Gaddafi regime has split up the Libyan military, where some army leaders joined the wing led by Khalifa Haftar.

Forces under the command of Haftar have seized control of Libya’s main oil terminals, handing the key to the country’s crucial oil exports to his ally – the elected parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

Since October 2017, Egypt’s capital Cairo has hosted extensive meetings that brought together a number of Libyan military officers to establish a united army.

Serraj and Khalifa Haftar met twice in 2017, respectively in May in the United Arab Emirates and in June in France, in order to develop a strategy to unify the Libyan army and integrate the military institution under civilian authority.