Top Libyan brass visits Algeria to discuss developments in Libya

Visiting Libya's Major General Khalifa Haftar met with Algerian officials here on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in his country, official APS news agency reported.

"The talks focused exclusively on the developments of the political and security situation in Libya, as well as ways that could speed up the process of restoring peace and stability there," APS quoted Abdelkader Messahel, Algerian minister of Maghreb, African Union and Arab League, as saying after a meeting with Haftar.

Messahel reaffirmed Algeria's firm support for a political solution to the civil war in Libya.

"Inclusive inter-Libyan dialogue and national reconciliation are the only way to put an end to the crisis hitting the brotherly Libyan people," said Messahel.

Haftar also held talks with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

"The meeting mainly focused on the developments of the situation in Libya and the prospects for settling the crisis and restoring stability, peace and security within the framework of Libya's unity and sovereignty," said the statement.

Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj announced late Saturday that the city of Sirte has been officially freed from the Islamic State militants.

Libya has turned into a battlefield of a civil war among different armed groups, including terrorists, since former leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in 2011.

In December 2015, a shaky UN-backed peace accord between rival parties in Libya was reached to establish a national unity government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

The war-torn country is now mostly split between two rival groups, namely the internationally recognized Serraj government, based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, and the Tripoli-based General National Congress supported by Khalifa Haftar. Endit