On Friday, members of Libya’s 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) and security and military leaders from the Western region arrived in the city of Benghazi.
The military delegation of the western region will resume talks with their eastern counterparts, to unify the military establishment and agree on holding elections.
In conjunction with the arrival of the military delegation, the UN Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily also arrived in Benghazi. He is expected to chair a military and security meeting under the auspices of the UN mission, within the military track.
Last month, the JMC met in Tripoli in the presence of Bathily. The meeting was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Abdel-Razek Al-Nathouri, and his counterpart of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Al-Haddad, in addition to security units in the western, eastern, and southern regions.
The United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) said that the discussions focused on the role of the military and security institutions in providing a conducive environment for advancing the political process, and holding free and fair elections in 2023.
The meeting emphasized that “dialogue should be Libyan–Libyan, inside Libya, reject any foreign interference in Libyan affairs. As well as reiterate their full commitment to the outcomes of the dialogue between the military and security commanders that were decided during their first and second meetings held respectively in Tunis and Tripoli.”
They rejected fighting and all forms of violence throughout the entirety of Libya’s territory, stressing the “continuation of work towards unifying the military institutions through the Chiefs of Staff; unifying the security institutions; and the rest of the state institutions.”
The meeting also reaffirmed the need to form a unified government, in addition to increasing efforts to address the challenges facing displaced people and those affected by fighting and wars.
The attendees reiterated the need for the completion of national reconciliation and reparation efforts, commitment to pursue elections, and the need for the Libyan Parliament and the High Council of State (HCS) to complete their tasks.