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Libya's Haftar Declares 'Final Opportunity' to Draw up Electoral Roadmap

© AP Photo / Ivan SekretarevIn this Aug. 14, 2017, photo, Libyan militia commander General Khalifa Hifter meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia.
In this Aug. 14, 2017, photo, Libyan militia commander General Khalifa Hifter meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia. - Sputnik International, 1920, 24.12.2022
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Following the civil war which erupted in 2011 and then-leader Muammar Gaddafi's murder, Libya no longer exists as a single state. The government in Tripoli, which is in the west of the country, and the government in eastern Libya, which was backed by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have been at odds with one another for the past few years.
The commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) located in the country's east, Khalifa Haftar, declared on Saturday that there was "a final opportunity" to create an electoral roadmap to solve the political crisis in the country, local media reported.

“We recall that we are the first to call for free, fair and transparent elections, and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) must shoulder its responsibility to solve the Libyan crisis,” Haftar is quoted as saying. "The Libyans are the only ones capable of solving their problem and reaching a single unified Libyan state."

Apart from that, Haftar, apparently addressing the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, the country's West, emphasized the need for "equitable distribution of oil revenues without marginalization."
The LNA commander asserted that the country's unity is seen as a "red line," as his movement does not "allow encroachment on it, and Libya is still one and indivisible.”
“There must be tolerance and renunciation of violence, and religious and media discourse must be changed to unify the ranks of the Libyan nation,” the marshal stressed. "We call on all cities and regions of western Libya to a Libyan-Libyan dialogue and to reunite the Libyans."
In this March 18, 2015 file photo, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, then Libya's top army chief, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in al-Marj, Libya.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.11.2021
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The militia commander spoke to Libyans in Benghazi, the country's second-largest city and the base of his army on the 71st anniversary of Libya's independence.
Earlier this week, the Libyan Presidential Council spokeswoman Najwa Wahiba announced a preliminary meeting to be conducted in January in preparation for the country's first national reconciliation forum.
The Supreme National Commission for National Reconciliation was established in April 2021, with the goal of national reconciliation to bring all Libyans together and put the past behind them.
All political and social groups will participate in the forum, according to Wahiba, and "will offer their recommendations and solutions to achieve reconciliation through the activities of specialized committees." It will be preceded by a planning conference early in the following month.
Since the 2011 NATO-backed rebellion that toppled Muammar Gaddafi and the country's breakup in 2014 during the civil war, Haftar launched an effort to seize Tripoli that lasted 14 months but was repulsed by the internationally recognized government.
As its political impasse worsens, some experts fear that Libya runs the possibility of re-entering civil war as politicians obstruct election-related development and military officials threaten to use force.
Following a ceasefire in 2020, the warring eastern and western sides agreed to hold elections on December 24, 2021, and a new unity administration was established with the goal of bringing the separated national institutions back together. However, the procedure failed.
An anti-government rebel sits with an anti-aircraft weapon in front an oil refinery in Ras Lanouf, eastern Libya. - Sputnik International, 1920, 28.08.2022
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