The Libyan Chief of General Staff, Mohammed Al-Haddad, met Saturday in Sirte with the Chief of Staff of Khalifa Haftar’s forces, who is acting now as a General Commander in place of Haftar, Abdel Raziq Al-Nadori for the first time.
After the meeting, Al-Nadori said they had discussed unifying the Libyan military institution without foreign intervention, and said that their visions were close as they come from their keenness on protecting the country, its constitution and military institution.
The meeting in Sirte was held in the presence of a number of military officers from both sides.
Al-Nadori remarked that they are expecting the 5+5 Joint Military Commission to join the meetings of unifying the military institution, and explained that there will be consecutive Libyan-Libyan meetings without foreign intervention.
He reiterated that previous governments, since 2011, blocked their (Haftar’s) military institution budgets, adding that they won’t allow politicians to dismantle the military institution anymore.
In the meantime, UNSMIL warmly welcomed the meeting in Sirte, encouraging all sides to take further concrete steps towards unifying state institutions, including military and security institutions.
