Libyan interor minister meets Egypt delegation

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI (AA) - Libya's Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha on Sunday discussed "common security challenges and ways to enhance security cooperation" with a visiting Egyptian delegation in the capital Tripoli.

In a statement, the ministry said the meeting was also attended by the chief of Libyan intelligence services, Imad Trabelsi.

The meeting also discussed ways to support a cease-fire agreement reached earlier this year between the legitimate Libyan government and forces loyal to warlord Khalifa Haftar, as well as the results of the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva "to support the UN efforts to get rid of the current crisis by political and peaceful means."

On Oct. 23, the UN announced a permanent cease-fire agreement between Libya's warring rivals during its facilitated 5+5 talks.

Last week, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel visited the eastern city of Benghazi for talks with Haftar and Speaker of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Based in the capital Tripoli and currently led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the Government of National Accord was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a long-term political settlement have failed due to a military offensive by militias loyal to Haftar.

Al-Sarraj's government has been battling Haftar's militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara