Libya: 5+5 Joint Military Commission meets in Sirte

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s 5+5 Joint Military Commission held a meeting Tuesday in the coastal city of Sirte.

The head of Libya's Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, and UN Special Envoy to Libya Jan Kubis took part.

Representatives from the warring sides discussed the opening of the coastal road along the north of the country and the departure of foreign mercenaries, the Presidential Council said in a statement following the meeting.

Efforts to open the coastal road linking Sirte to Misrata have concluded after the region was cleared of mines and several security points have been established in the area, the statement said.

The 5+5 Joint Military Commission is made up of five senior military officers from the Libyan government and five chosen by warlord Khalifa Haftar.

On Oct. 23 last year, the UN announced a permanent cease-fire agreement between Libya’s warring rivals during a meeting of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva, Switzerland.

The warring parties agreed in November to open the coastal highway as part of the cease-fire deal.

On Feb. 5, Libya's rival political groups agreed during UN-mediated talks in Geneva to form an interim government to lead the country to elections this December. Libyan delegates elected Mohamed Al-Menfi to head a three-member Presidential Council and Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as the new prime minister.

Libyans hope the government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz