Libya's newly-established 5+5 Joint Military Commission held a meeting Tuesday in the coastal city of Sirte to discuss security issues.
The head of Libya's Presidential Council, Mohammad Younes Menfi, and U.N. Special Envoy to Libya Jan Kubis took part in the discussion.
Representatives from the warring sides discussed the opening of the coastal road along the north of the country and the departure of foreign mercenaries, the Presidential Council said in a statement following the meeting.
Efforts to open the coastal road linking Sirte to Misrata have concluded after the region was cleared of mines and several security points have been established in the area, the statement noted.
The 5+5 Joint Military Commission is made up of five senior military officers from the Libyan government and five chosen by warlord Gen. Khalifa Haftar.
On Oct. 23 last year, the U.N. announced a permanent cease-fire agreement between Libya's warring rivals during a meeting of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva, Switzerland.
The warring parties agreed in November to open the coastal highway as part of the cease-fire deal.
Selected through a United Nations-led process, Libya’s new interim government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), was sworn in on March 15 from two rival political groups that had ruled eastern and western regions, completing a smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos.
Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah will lead Libya to the Dec. 24 elections.
Libyans hope that the new process would end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ousting and killing of strongman Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
