On Sunday, the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA) denied that Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, held a meeting with the outgoing Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a statement, LNA Spokesman, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari said that “the dissemination of such false and fabricated news aims to undermine the LNA General Command, its Commander, and to plunge them into the current political conflict in Libya.” He called on media outlets to investigate the credibility of news, before publishing.
Haftar visited the UAE, where he met with President, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He offered his condolences on the death of the late President, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
He also congratulated bin Zayed on his assumption of the UAE presidency, wishing him success in leading the country.
Notably, Libya is currently facing a political crisis after the Libyan Parliament swore in former Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha to lead a new interim government in February. MP’s argued that Dbaiba’s mandate expired when elections failed to take place in December.
Dbaiba has since refused to cede power, and warned that the appointment of a new government could lead to war and chaos in the country. He renewed his pledge to only hand power over to an elected government.