The work of the second day of the Libyan Joint Military Committee "5 + 5" talks began in Geneva between the two delegations of the Government of National Accord and the leadership of the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, and the United Nations sponsoring the talks agreed to add a new item to the discussions, which is the restructuring of the Petroleum Facilities Guard.

A military source from the delegation of the recognized Government of National Accord said to the island that the UN mission overseeing the talks added - based on the reconciliation government’s proposal - a clause related to the restructuring of the Petroleum Facilities Guard, in addition to the two permanent ceasefire clauses and making Sirte and Jufrah two demilitarized and isolated areas.

The Petroleum Facilities Guard is affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, and its mission is to protect and secure places and facilities in the oil sector from fields, wells and stations, including pumping stations and communications, as well as ports, warehouses, warehouses and others.

The military source indicated that negotiations are still continuing with the delegation representing retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, under the supervision of the UN mission in Geneva.

These negotiations are scheduled to continue until next Saturday.

The United States is pleased to see the Libyans meet through the Libyan Joint Military Committee as a means of a ceasefire and de-escalation for the benefit of all Libyans.

# Libya https://t.co/YKYRfn4GhS

- US Embassy - Libya (@USAEmbassyLibya) October 20, 2020

The outstanding issues


The United Nations Support Mission in Libya hopes that the two delegations will reach a solution to all outstanding issues in order to reach a complete and permanent ceasefire throughout Libya.

The mission said that the work of the Joint Military Committee, which is the security track, constitutes one of the three tracks that the mission is working on in addition to the economic and political tracks, which emerged from the Berlin Conference held early this year, and which the Security Council adopted in its Resolution 2510, which called on the two parties to reach an agreement. For a permanent ceasefire.

The previous meeting between the military from both sides of the Libyan crisis was held over two days in late September in the Egyptian city of Hurghada, on the Red Sea.

Since last August 21, a ceasefire has prevailed in Libya, but the Libyan army announced that Haftar's forces had violated the ceasefire more than once.

Previous rounds


On the third of last February, the first round of the Military Committee meetings began in Geneva, which included 5 officers from the Government of National Accord and 5 others from Haftar's forces, while the second round took place on the 18th of the same month, and the third last March. .

In conjunction with the meetings of the Military Committee “5 + 5, the Sirte and Al-Jufrah Operations Room of the recognized Government of National Accord confirmed the continued closure of the road linking Sirte and Al-Jufrah and the Western Region. .

On the other hand, the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated its continuation of the training program for the Libyan armed forces, and said in a tweet to it on Twitter that the training process falls within the agreement for training, cooperation and advice in the military field between Ankara and Tripoli.

The ministry indicated that it had started a program to train Libyan soldiers from the Coast Guard.