Libya's Joint Military Commission holds talks over withdrawal of foreign forces

Cairo, Oct 31 Libya's 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) has launched a new round of UN-sponsored talks in Egypt's capital Cairo to discuss plans for the pullout of foreign forces.

The two-day meeting was attended by UN special envoy for Libya Jan Kubis, and representatives from neighbouring countries, Xinhua quoted Egypt's official Ahram Online news website as saying in a report.

After the meeting held in Geneva on October 8, the JMC signed a comprehensive Action Plan for the gradual, balanced, and sequenced withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libyan territory.

The work of the 5+5 JMC, or the security track, is one of the three intra-Libyan tracks that the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is working on, along with the economic and political tracks.

These tracks were endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2510 (2020), which called on both parties to reach an agreement for a permanent ceasefire.

Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed Government of National Accord based in the capital Tripoli and a Tobruk-based one allied with military commander Khalifa Haftar.

In February, Libya's warring factions agreed to form an interim government, under the auspices of the UN, to run the country until the general elections are held on December 24.