Libyan military officers representing the army of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar and the Al-Sirraj government agreed on Tuesday during meetings in Cairo on the importance of preserving the unity and sovereignty of the Libyan state, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The meetings, which started on Friday, were hosted by the Egyptian committee on Libyan affairs, which has hosted previous four rounds of meetings. The Libyan delegations also agreed on the importance of ending the current polarisation within the Libyan military in order to ensure its effectiveness as a professional and national force. Cairo continues to promote dialogue between rival factions in Libya. Egypt has been calling for the implementation of the Skhirat agreement signed in December 2015, which calls on Libya's rival governments in Tobruk and Tripoli to establish a national unity administration. Tuesday's meeting, which was sponsored by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, aimed to discuss unifying the Libyan military to ensure that it can act as a guarantor of Libyan unity and sovereignty. On Sunday, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said during a press conference with his UAE counterpart that Egypt is supporting a political solution in Libya, combating terrorism and facilitating elections. As such, the FM said, Egypt supports the unification of the Libyan military. The officials attending the meeting also stressed the need to unify the Libyan military in order to face the challenges of terrorism, irregular migration and organised crime. Libya descended into civil war following the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed in a joint operation by militants and US special forces. The country is now divided between rival governments in the east and the west.
