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UN envoy holds first meeting with key Libyan military leaders

Xinhua, January 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN special envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon met on Thursday for the first time with Major General Khalifa Haftar, leader of a key military campaign against Islamist militias, according to a senior parliament member.

The UN envoy also met in the city of Al-Marj, 1100 km east of Tripoli, with Col. Saqr Al-Jroshi, commander of the army's air force, said Tariq Saqer Al-Jroshi, vice president of the defense and national security committee of the House of Representatives.

Haftar, during the talks, asked the UN to lift its arms embargo on the Libyan army, he said, adding that the general assured Leon that the army will not get involved in the political disputes in the country, and that the war it wages is a "war between the government and terrorist groups."

The military leaders also believed that the return of army officers to service from retirement could bring more legitimacy to the army's campaign against terrorism and extremism in the country, said the legislator.

The unannounced meeting came after the parliament returned 129 retired army officers to service, including General Haftar.

Haftar launched the military operation Dignity in May 16, saying it was aimed at fighting terrorism in the country. At the time, it was considered a coup before it was adopted by the internationally recognized authorities of Libya.

Since militias of Libya Dawn took over the capital Tripoli in August, two rival parliaments and governments fight for legitimacy in Libya, a country that has been deeply troubled by lawlessness since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

The United Nations has indefinitely postponed the dialogues between different political parties in Libya, which was scheduled to take place on Monday. Enditem