On 4 February, U.S. AFRICOM Deputy Commander John W. Brennan, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Berndt, and Rose Lopez Keravuori, Director of Intelligence at AFRICOM, met in al-Rajma with Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar to discuss the general political and security situation in Libya, including the Russian military presence, ways to unify Libyan military institutions, and security cooperation between AFRICOM and the LNA. On the Libyan side, Secretary General of the LNA Khairi al-Tamimi participated in the talks (but none of the sons of the LNA Commander). Haftar, who is still a U.S. citizen, stressed the pivotal American role in resolving the crisis in Libya and welcomed prospects for enhanced cooperation. Brennan expressed his appreciation for the LNA’s efforts to establish security and stability and to combat terrorism and extremism.
On 5 February in the morning, the U.S. delegation met in Benghazi with Saddam Haftar, Chief of Staff of Ground Forces, who toured various LNA facilities with them. Talks focused on ways to expand U.S. Libya security cooperation and American support to Libyan-led efforts to reunify military and security institutions.
In the afternoon in Tripoli, Brennan and his delegation met Government of National Unity (GNU) Deputy Minister of Defence Abdussalam al-Zoubi and Military Intelligence Director (and Commander of the 444 Brigade) Mahmoud Hamza to discuss the same topics as in Benghazi. Thereafter, they visited the training center of the 11th Infantry Brigade in Tripoli.
Later in the afternoon, Brennan met Libyan Army CoS Muhammed al-Haddad and his Deputy (and West Coast Military District Commander) Salaheddin al-Namroush. Among the topics discussed was the security situation in the greater capital area.
In the evening, the American delegation was received by PM and MoD Abdul Hameed Dabaiba at the PM office. On the Libyan side, al-Haddad and al-Zoubi participated in the meeting. They discussed regional security developments in North Africa and ways to strengthen the U.S.-Libyan security cooperation. Brennan said the U.S. is seeking to support Libyan efforts to heal divisions and wants a strong, unified Libya as a partner. It wants to work with Libyan leaders to that end.
On 6 February, Brennan and Keravuori visited Sirte in what was the first visit to this city by a senior American military delegation. They were met by Saddam Haftar and Saiqa Special Forces Commander Abdussalam al-Hassi to continue the discussion on security cooperation and the unification of Libyan military institutions. They also visited the headquarters of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC), where they were briefed on the commission’s work to maintain the ceasefire agreement and facilitate the unification of the military and security forces.
Furthermore, in Sirte the Americans were also briefed by Mahmoud Elforjani, Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Sirte Free Zone, on the port’s development plans, explaining future key infrastructures and long-term strategies to enhance Libya’s economic position and attract investment.