Prisoners Released as Libyan Unity Government Lives On

Authorities in western Libya on Wednesday released over 100 soldiers belonging to the eastern Libyan National Army, taken prisoner two years ago during the LNA’s failed assault on Tripoli. The goodwill gesture is part of a series of moves aimed at solidifying the newly erected unity government, which consists of representatives of both the eastern administration, to which the LNA belonged, and the internationally recognized western Government of National Accord, based in the capital. The warring sides, fighting a bloody civil war since the violent ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, recently agreed to a cease-fire and eventual free and fair elections after months of UN-facilitated negotiations, yet the fragile interim government remains a question mark, with armed factions still roaming free. “This is the real project for national reconciliation,” Ramadan Ahmed Abujanah, deputy prime minister of the new unity government, said during the prisoners’ release ceremony on Wednesday.