Libya's GNU, LNA Discuss Means to Unify Military

LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
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Libya's GNU, LNA Discuss Means to Unify Military

LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)

Libyan National Army (LNA) Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori held talks on Saturday with Mohammed al-Haddad, the Government of National Unity (GNU) chief of staff, on efforts to unify the military.

Member of the 5+5 joint military committee, Khairy al-Tamimi said the meeting, which was held in Sirte city, was aimed at building trust between the two sides.

Efforts to unify the military institution "are moving in the right direction," he added.

Meanwhile, the High National Election Commission denied reports that it had declared "force majeure", meaning the cancellation of the upcoming elections.

A statement had been published on the commission's official website, claiming the polls have been canceled.

The commission said the website was hacked and the statement has since been taken down.

The statement had condemned what it said was the threat of one presidential candidate, who holds dual nationality, to use force against the commission, which prompted it to declare "force majeure".

Meanwhile, Stephanie Williams, adviser to the UN chief on Libya, stressed on Friday the need to respect the will of 2.8 million Libyans who had registered to vote in the elections.

The diplomat had held talks with head of the High Council of State Khalid al-Mishri in Tripoli.

In a tweet, she said she highlighted the calendar set by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum roadmap and "called for urgent and serious efforts to end Libya's already too long transitional period with free, fair and credible elections."

She added that talks with Mishri also "outlined his vision to work towards national elections via a referendum on the constitution in a timely manner."



Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
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Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)

A Tunisian court on Tuesday handed jail terms of 12 to 35 years on high-profile politicians, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former security officials, a move that critics say underscores the president's use of the judiciary to cement “authoritarian rule”.

Among those sentenced on charges of conspiring against the state in the major mass trial, were Nadia Akacha, the former chief of staff to President Kais Saied, local radio Mosaique FM said. Akacha who fled abroad received 35 years.

Ghannouchi, 84, veteran head of the Islamist-leaning Ennahda party, was handed a 14-year term.

Ghannouchi who was the speaker of the elected parliament dissolved by Saied, has been in prison since 2023, receiving three sentences of a total of 27 years in separate cases in recent months.

A total of 21 were charged in the case, with 10 already in custody and 11 having fled the country.

The court sentenced former intelligence chief Kamel Guizani to 35 years, former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem to 35 years, and Mouadh Ghannouchi, son of Rached Ghannouchi, to 35 years. All three have fled the country.

Saied dissolved the parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, then dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges, a move that opposition called a coup which undermined the nascent democracy that sparked in 2011 the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Saied rejects the accusations and says his steps are legal and aim to end years of chaos and corruption hidden within the political elite.

Most opposition leaders, some journalists, and critics of Saied have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.

This year, a court handed jail terms of 5 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring as well, a case the opposition says is fabricated in an attempt to stamp out opposition to the president.