Senior military leaders from eastern and western Libya convened Sunday in the central city of Sirte to discuss the unification of the country’s divided armed forces, according to a statement by eastern forces Deputy Commander Saddam Haftar.
The high-level meeting brought together eastern forces Chief of Staff Khaled Haftar and western forces Chief of Staff Salah al-Din al-Namroush. They were joined by members of the Joint Military Commission (5+5), the Joint Security and Military Committee (3+3), and representatives from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
The official statement indicated that these talks are part of continuous, ongoing efforts to reunify Libya’s military establishment and finally bring an end to years of institutional division. While the discussions were described as constructive, the statement did not provide specific details regarding any immediate agreements or concrete outcomes.
Libya’s armed forces have remained fractured for years, divided primarily between eastern forces led by Khalifa Haftar and various forces aligned with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity in the west.
These military reunification efforts are being conducted under the framework of the United Nations-backed Joint Military Commission (5+5), which was originally established under the October 2020 ceasefire agreement signed in Geneva. The Joint Security and Military Committee (3+3) was created subsequently to help coordinate border security, counterterrorism initiatives, and joint efforts to combat organized crime.
The broader nation of Libya has experienced persistent political division between rival administrations operating in the east and west. Repeated efforts to organize nationwide elections have continually stalled due to ongoing disputes over the constitutional basis for voting and the eligibility criteria for candidates.
