© Mahmud TURKIA78 pro-Haftar fighters were released in a reconciliation ceremony at a prison in Tripoli
Seventy-eight prisoners who fought on the side of eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in his year-long offensive against the capital Tripoli were released late Wednesday, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
© Mahmud TURKIAThe released fighters were reunited with their waiting families
The detained fighters were released at the end of a reconciliation ceremony organised in Jedaida prison in Tripoli that was attended by the minister of justice.
They were then reunited with their waiting families.
The release comes on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, traditionally celebrated by families gathering together.
Libya has been ravaged by bloodshed since the fall and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed 2011 revolt.
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An array of armed groups arose to fill the vacuum, and many coalesced around the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) or around Haftar, who backed an eastern administration.
In April 2019, Haftar launched an offensive to seize Tripoli from the unity government.
The two camps, each supported by foreign powers, fought for more than a year before Haftar was forced to retreat.
In October 2020, they signed a truce, setting in motion a UN-led process that saw a new transitional government installed.
In December and January, the two sides exchanged dozens of prisoners in accordance with the ceasefire terms, and at the end of March, 120 pro-Haftar fighters were released near to Tripoli.
The new executive is charged with organising national elections set for December 2021, but analysts warn that major stumbling blocks remain.
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