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By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 20 October 2016:
The eighth defence meeting of the 5+5 group of western Mediterranean countries’ took place in Algiers today attended by chiefs of staff or military representatives from the ten countries. The main discussions were on the fight against terrorism, organised crime, and the flow of migrants through North Africa to Europe.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Libyan representative, Major-General Mohamed Al-Ajtal, had talks Algeria’s Chief of Staff and Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaid Salah on potential Algerian help in restoring security and stability in Libya and improving border security between the two countries.
The Algerian media presented Major-General Al-Atjal as Libya’s Chief of Staff, saying that he had just been appointed by the Presidency Council. However, so far no chief of staff has been apppointed. Yesterday, at their controversial meeting in Tripoli, military officers call on the Presidency Council (PC) to appoint a chief of staff within 30 days.
For their part, Libyan officials linked to the PC say that a chief of staff will be appointed as part of a package of appointments when the new Government of National Accord is named.
The 5+5 countries are Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Malta, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
