Libya's Haftar Calls for Unified Government to Oversee Polls

Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
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Libya's Haftar Calls for Unified Government to Oversee Polls

Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar called Friday for a unified government of technocrats to organize long-delayed elections, in place of the rival administrations currently vying for control.

Libya has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict since a NATO-backed revolt toppled strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers, said AFP.

The country remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east backed by Haftar.

Presidential and parliamentary elections were due to be held in December 2021 but were never organized as differences persisted on key issues including who should be allowed to stand.

Last week, both sides agreed on the legal steps to hold the elections following talks in Morocco, but stopped short of signing a deal, suggesting that some differences remain.

Among the contested points are the candidacy of dual nationals and soldiers.

Haftar also holds US citizenship, and his detractors accuse him of seeking to restore military dictatorship in Libya.

The United Nations, which hopes the elections could take place before the end of the year, has said it would work toward helping iron out differences between the rival sides.

On Friday, a statement from Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army urged the rival administrations “to end the political divisions and form a new unified government comprising technocrats tasked with organizing elections.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said that UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily had “initiated a series of meetings with political leaders in Libya, regional and international partners, and other stakeholders to hear their analysis and discuss potential ways forward.”

According to the statement, some of Bathily’s interlocutors voiced concerns over the agreement struck last week in Morocco which, they claimed, “could hinder elections from a practical and political standpoint.” It gave no further details.



Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
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Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)

The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, long used by its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a staging ground for attacks.

It is the latest conquest in the army's major offensive this month to wrest back control of the entire capital region, which includes Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri -- three cities split by branches of the River Nile.

The blitz saw the army recapture the presidential palace on March 21, followed by the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city center.

In a statement, army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said forces extended "their control over Souq Libya in Omdurman" and seized "weapons and equipment left behind by" the RSF as they fled.

Souq Libya, one of the largest and busiest in the Khartoum area, had for months been an RSF stronghold and a launchpad for attacks on northern and central Omdurman since the war with the army began on April 15, 2023.

While the army already controls much of Omdurman, the RSF still holds ground in the city's west, particularly in Ombada district.

Late Thursday, the military spokesman said that the army had "cleansed" Khartoum itself from "the last pockets" of the RSF.

Sudan's war began almost two years ago during a power struggle between the army and the RSF, a paramilitary force that was once its ally.

Khartoum has seen more than 3.5 million of its people flee since the war began, according to the United Nations. Millions more, unable or unwilling to leave, live among abandoned buildings, wrecked vehicles and what the army says are hidden mass graves.

The war has carved Sudan in two: the army holds sway in the east and north while the RSF controls most of Darfur in the west, and parts of the south.