Haftar's team pays visit to Syrian regime officials

TRIPOLI

A committee formed by Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar visited Syria to meet officials of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

According to eastern Benghazi-based Al Marsad online newspaper, the Libyan committee that visited Damascus on Saturday included Haftar’s illegitimate government's Vice President Abdurrahman al-Ahirash, Foreign Relations and International Aid Minister Abdullah, Defense Minister Younes Farhan and intelligence chief Mustafa al-Mukaran.

It was stated that during the visit, politics, security and intelligence sharing would be on the agenda, along with "Turkey's operations".

Syrian deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received the Libyan committee.

Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar in eastern Libya, supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

The GNA has been under attack by Haftar’s forces since last April, with more than 1,000 lives lost in the violence.

* Writing by Firdevs Bulut