Libya's eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar (second left) gestures after a speech a rally marking the 71st anniversary of the country's independence from Italy in the eastern city of Benghazi on December 24, 2022. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)ReutersBenghazi: The Libyan National Army of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar on Saturday announced "a final opportunity" to draw up a road map for elections, Libyan al-Hadath TV reported, a year to the day after rival factions agreed to hold the polls. "The General Command (of LNA) announces a final opportunity through which it will draw a road map and hold elections," Haftar was quoted by the TV channel as saying. After a 2020 ceasefire, the rival eastern and western sides agreed to hold elections on Dec. 24, 2021, and installed a new unity government that was meant to reunify divided national institutions. Libya has had little peace since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and led to a 2014 split between the warring eastern and western factions.

Source: Libya Today December 24, 2022 15:18 UTC