Eastern Libya forces deputy commander meets Bahraini delegation on UN-led efforts to unify Libyan institutions

The deputy commander of eastern Libya’s forces met with a Bahraini delegation Wednesday to discuss their support for international and UN efforts to unify the country’s institutions ahead of elections.

Saddam Haftar received the delegation headed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, the chairman of Bahrain’s Strategic Security Bureau, in the eastern city of Benghazi, according to a statement by the eastern Libyan forces.

The two sides discussed several “issues of mutual interest” and affirmed support for UN-led international efforts to unify the country’s institutions ahead of elections, the statement said.

Libya has faced years of political and institutional division between rival centers of power in the country’s west and east, along with the proliferation of armed groups and recurring security tensions.

Presidential and parliamentary elections originally scheduled for December 2021 have remained stalled because of political and legal disputes.

On Aug. 30 this year, Libyan parties reached a UN-facilitated agreement on reconstituting the board of the High National Elections Commission and addressing outstanding issues in the legal framework governing presidential and parliamentary elections. The agreement commits the parties to work toward holding elections within no more than 24 months.