In a first, Libya’s rival forces take part in joint US-led military exercises
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- Libya's rival factions, LNA and UN-backed government, participated in US-led "Flintlock" exercises in Sirte, the first joint military event between them.
- Saddam Haftar stated the exercise "reaffirms Libya's position as a reliable partner in supporting regional and international peace and security."
- AFRICOM's "Flintlock" involves over 30 nations and will occur in Libya and Ivory Coast, with Italy playing a significant role.
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BENGHAZI, Libya - Forces from Libya’s east- and west-based administrations participated in US special forces exercises in the central city of Sirte on April 14 in the first such joint military event including the former civil war rivals.
Libya has been divided since 2014 when war broke out in the wake of the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi three years earlier.
The fighting culminated in 2019-2020, when military commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, or LNA, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, tried to take the capital Tripoli.
Tensions have cooled considerably since then, and the two sides last week agreed to the first unified budget in more than a decade to determine how to spend the billions of dollars of oil revenues the country earns each year.
The “Flintlock” special operations exercises, run by the United States Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, opened in Sirte on April 14 including forces from both the LNA and the UN-recognised Government of National Unity, which is based in Tripoli.
General Haftar’s son, Saddam, who serves as the LNA’s deputy commander, said in a speech that the exercise “reaffirms Libya’s position as a reliable partner in supporting regional and international peace and security”.
AFRICOM said in a statement that forces from more than 30 countries would take part in the exercises, which will also be held in Ivory Coast later in the month.
Italy played a significant role in planning and carrying out Flintlock in Libya, which marked a “historic milestone” and supported “the continued development of a unified Libyan military”, the statement said. REUTERS
