On Sunday, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR), Abdel Moneim Al-Arfi, said that unifying the military institution should be a priority. It is an essential step for resolving the political division in the war-torn country.
In press statements, Al-Arfi explained that the presence of two Libyan Chiefs of the Staff of the Army, Lieutenant-General Abdulrazek Al-Nathouri and Major General Mohamed Al-Haddad to represent Libya in the International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (IADE) in Tunisia a few days ago, reflects the unfortunate state of the institutional division in the country.
Meanwhile, the Chargé d’Affairs of the United States (US) Embassy in Libya, Leslie Ordman, said that the US looks forward to partnering with a unified Libyan military that can protect the homeland and be a source of stability.
“It is a challenging path but one that will profoundly help Libya once realized,” the US Embassy said in a tweet.
On Thursday, the Chief of Staff of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Al-Nathouri, participated in the event along with his Government of National Unity (GNU) counterpart, Al-Haddad in Tunisia.
The four-day event was inaugurated by the Tunisian Defence Minister, Imed Memmich; the Minister of Transport, Rabie Majidi, and the Minister of Employment, Nasreddine Nsibi.
Libyan Military delegations led by chiefs of African air forces and representatives of European, Argentinian, and Australian air forces attended the inauguration ceremony. At least 110 companies from 50 countries took part in the exhibition.
The first IADE was held in the southeastern Tunisian city of Djerba in March 2020 and was attended by more than 100 exhibitors from more than 40 countries.
This is the first meeting between Al-Nathouri and Al-Haddad since their talks in Tripoli in July. As part of the framework to unify the military institution.
In January, Lieutenant-General Khairi Al-Tamimi said that this was a continuation of a previous meeting within the framework of a program to unify the military institution and build confidence between the two parties.
Libya has two rival armies present in the East and the West. They were engaged in conflict before signing an United Nations (UN)-brokered ceasefire agreement in October 2020.