Members of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee on the Western Region have stated that the military meeting held in Zintan had no relation to the recent military meetings in Tunisia and Tripoli.
Members of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee from Cyrenaica and the Libyan National Army made a visit to Zintan where they met with Osama Al-Juwaili, former Director of Military Intelligence Administration and commander of the Western Military Region.
The Western Region committee members explained in a statement that the visit of some members of the committee to Zintan was considered a personal visit and that it was “Libyan-Libyan” without the sponsorship of the United Nations mission or any other party.
They confirmed that the visit of some members of the committee to Zintan city was within the framework of reconciliation and reunification and avoiding fighting between all Libyan parties for national reconciliation.
Osama Al-Juwaili is considered a controversial figure in western Libya. In May 2022, the head of the National Unity Government, Defense Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, relieved Major General Osama Juwaili, Director of Military Intelligence Administration, of his duties and assigned the assistant with the tasks entrusted to the director of the administration until a new director is appointed.
This came after clashes in Tripoli between forces loyal to Dbeibeh and others loyal to Fathi Bashagha, the Prime Minister appointed by the House of Representatives, following Bashagha’s entry attempt into Tripoli. The National Unity Government accused Al-Juwaili of military mobilization in the city and the possibility of his involvement in supporting Bashagha.