Libya's National Accord Government, Army Agree to Unify Institutions - Adviser

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) backed by the UN, and Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, agreed on the need to unify state institutions and hold nation-wide presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of year, Sarraj's media adviser Hassan Houni told Sputnik.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on February 28 Sarraj and Haftar agreed on the need to hold general elections in the country.

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"[The sides] reached an agreement… on the need to unite state institutions and on holding presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of this year, as well as on support for UN envoy's efforts on the matter," Houni said.

The media adviser added that the meeting between the sides was aimed at "ending the bloodshed and preventing the escalation of military conflict in the country."

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011 when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. The country’s eastern regions are governed by the elected parliament, backed by the Libyan National Army, while the Government of National Accord, operates in the country’s west, including the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The United Nations attempted to organize nation-wide presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya last December, however, the vote was later postponed until the spring of 2019.