By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI

The General Command of East Libya-based forces has denied the participation of military commander Khalifa Haftar in a high-profile summit in Italy on the future of Libya.

Haftar arrived in Palermo on Monday and held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

But the General Command said in a statement that Haftar will not attend the two-day summit in Palermo.

According to the statement, Haftar will hold talks with leaders of Libya’s neighbors to discuss the latest local and international developments.

Libya has remained dogged by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody NATO-backed uprising led to the ouster and death of long-serving President Muammar Gaddafi after more than four decades in power.

Currently, two rival seats of power are vying for supremacy in Libya: an internationally recognized national unity government based in Tripoli, and a government supported by a legislative assembly based in the eastern city of Tobruk.