Libya’s Haftar, UN envoy discuss roadmap to end political deadlock

ISTANBUL

Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar met Sunday with UN envoy Hanna Serwaa Tetteh in Benghazi to review a new roadmap designed to break the country’s long-running political deadlock.

A statement from Haftar’s office said the discussions centered on the plan Tetteh outlined to the UN Security Council last month. The proposal calls for the creation of a single interim government to prepare the ground for both presidential and parliamentary elections.

The UN mission has been pressing for consensus between Libya’s rival administrations to pave the way for elections.

Haftar and Tetteh also exchanged views on how to support the political track, maintain calm in Tripoli and avoid further escalation of recent tensions.

The Libyan capital Tripoli has seen renewed friction in recent days between factions loyal to the unity government and forces linked to the Special Deterrence Force, a security body dissolved by Prime Minsiter Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in May.

The UN mission, alongside Libya’s Presidency Council chaired by Mohamed al-Menfi, has been working to defuse tensions and keep preparations for elections on track.

Libya remains divided between two rival administrations: one led by Dbeibeh in Tripoli, which controls the west of the country, and another appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament) in early 2022, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which governs the east and much of the south.