Libya’s unity government and the Libyan National Army, led by General Jalifa Haftar, have carried out a prisoner exchange involving the release of a pilot captured during the 2019 military offensive against the capital Tripoli.
According to reports gathered by ‘The Libya Observer’ newspaper, the pilot, identified as Amer al-Jagam, arrived on Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi as part of the deal, which has involved the release of 15 prisoners held by the Libyan National Army.
Al Jagam was captured in December 2019 after his plane crashed in the town of Zauiya, west of Tripoli, as part of the offensive launched by Haftar in an attempt to seize the capital, the seat of the internationally recognized government.
Jaftar himself, aligned with the authorities based in eastern Libya, announced on Saturday «a last chance» to agree on a timetable for holding elections, following the postponement of the presidential elections scheduled for December 2021.
Haftar has given a speech in which he has called for a ‘roadmap’ that includes elections and reiterated the need for a «fair» distribution of oil revenues, the main source of income of the African country, as reported by ‘The Libya Observer’ newspaper.
The general ordered in 2019 an offensive against Tripoli after months of tensions between two warring administrations. The military operation was finally repelled thanks to Turkey’s support for the internationally recognized government, after which a unification process was launched, which received a severe setback after the postponement of the presidential elections.
The political crisis worsened after the decision of the House of Representatives to appoint Fazi Bashaga as Prime Minister by terminating the mandate of the unity Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibé, who rejected the decision and has opted to remain in office until the holding of elections.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
