First meeting between the leaders of the eastern and western Libyan armies

A military delegation from the Libyan government of national unity arrived in Benghazi on Thursday for its first visit to the east of the country to discuss unifying the army and ending the division and armed conflict. The delegation included army chief of staff Mohamed El-Haddad and commanders of military units in western Libya.

The meeting, which was attended by journalists from the media, aimed to take stock of the latest findings of the Libyan Joint Military Commission (5+5) during its previous meetings sponsored by the United Nations.

El-Haddad’s visit to Benghazi came as General Abdul Razeq al-Nadhouri, chief of staff of the eastern forces led by Khalifa Haftar, was to continue discussions on the issue of unifying the Libyan army, which is supervised by the Joint Military Committee (5+5), according to a Libyan military source.

“The Libyan army is ready to secure the upcoming Libyan elections,” Nadhuri said during the meeting, which was attended by chiefs of staff and directors of administrations from both sides. “The military institution in Libya is independent and does not belong to any political party.”

For his part, General El-Haddad affirmed his desire “to preserve the unity of Libyan territory and to be ready to help those who want elections.”

“We extended the hand of peace because Libya is going through its worst situation because of wars,” he said. “There are countries (he did not name) that are interfering in Libyan affairs that do not want the stability of the country.”

“Today’s meeting was held to complete what was discussed earlier and to implement what we agreed on,” El-Haddad said, without providing further details.

For his part, Lieutenant General Abdul Razzaq Al-Nadhuri confirmed that “military leaders, whatever the difference between them, are capable of convergence and bridging the gap as soon as possible,” noting that “the military institution disappears from tribal, partisan and political affiliations.”

“The Joint Military Commission (JMC), which includes five members from the military in western Libya and two from Haftar’s forces, has been holding dialogs inside and outside Libya to unify the army under UN auspices, in implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed in Geneva in October 2020.”

The UN mission revealed last February that the “5+5” committee agreed to form a joint border protection force as a first step to unify Libya’s military.

El-Haddad and Nadhuri have already met on a bilateral basis in the capital Tripoli twice in the past period, most recently on March 26, and have participated in the meetings of the 5+5 committee inside and outside Libya more than once.

In early March, Libyan army leaders announced the formation of a joint military unit to protect the border, as a first step towards unifying the military.

Observers say the meetings between Nadhuri and El-Haddad reflect the recent rapprochement between Haftar and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, particularly in the area of regulating the oil sector and resuming exports.

On March 17th, UN envoy to Libya Abdoulay Bathelli called on the parties involved in the talks to unify the military to support a secure environment for the elections.

The first is in Tripoli, which emerged from a political agreement a year and a half ago headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who refused to hand over power except to an elected government. The second is headed by Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed by parliament and is based in the central city of Sirte after being denied entry to Tripoli despite an attempt to do so.