Libya's rival armies met in the central city of Sirte on Sunday in one of the most senior face-to-face efforts yet to reunify the country's divided armed forces, with both sides declaring a unified national army as the only path to lasting stability.
The talks brought together Khaled Haftar, chief of staff of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, and Salah Al Din Al Namroush, chief of staff of the forces aligned with the UN-recognised Government of National Unity, based in Tripoli.
Also present were members of the UN-backed Joint Military Commission and the Joint Security and Military Committee, alongside a delegation from the UN Support Mission in Libya (Unsmil).
The eastern command welcomed “the national meeting in Sirte, the city that unites the homeland”, and praised “the positive atmosphere” and “the spirit of national responsibility” that prevailed.
The meeting is part of a broader, US-driven push led by Massad Boulos, President Donald Trump's adviser on Arab and African affairs. Known as the “Boulos initiative”, it offers the promise of American oil investment in return for unity.
Under the US proposal, Washington has explored a power-sharing formula that would keep Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, leader of the Government of National Unity, in office, while elevating Lt Gen Haftar to a senior national executive role, possibly leading a unified presidential structure.
The talks were part of efforts “to unify the military institution and end the state of division, with the support of international partners”. The eastern side thanked “the efforts made by the United States, including the US Africa Command [Africom], alongside Unsmil”.
The proposal has pushed for joint military exercises around Sirte under Africom supervision and a joint operations room, and the two sides agreed on Sunday to hold a military exercise in Libya's restive south, where the eastern army has been expanding operations to control smuggling and migration routes along the borders with Chad and Niger.
Unsmil welcomed what it called a “technical military meeting”, attended by its deputy political chief Stephanie Koury.
The mission described it as “an important confidence-building step” that “reflects the commitment of the Libyan leaders to unifying the country's military institutions”, and pledged to continue supporting the process “under Libyan leadership and ownership, through continued international facilitation and co-ordination”.
Momentum has been building behind the initiative. The rivals in April signed Libya's first unified national budget in more than decade. Lt Gen Saddam Haftar, the deputy commander of the eastern-based Libyan National Army, then met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington in late June and further talks were held in Malta on July 6. The factions are looking at February 17 next year as a possible presidential election date.
But significant obstacles to a deal remain. Powerful armed groups in Misurata have rejected the US plan, deadly militia clashes have flared in Tripoli and opposition has surfaced in the south.
Since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, Libya has been split between the internationally recognised government in Tripoli and the eastern administration of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Both sides pledged to continue co-ordinating towards “a unified Libyan army capable of defending the nation”.
