TRIPOLI, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army on Tuesday denied reports that its commander Khalifa Haftar has travelled to Italy's Palermo for an international conference on Libya.
"The General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces denies local and international reports about the commander, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, participating in the conference held in the Italian city of Palermo on Libya," the army's information office said in a statement.
Haftar arrived in Italy on Monday, but just held meetings with heads of neighboring states to discuss the latest regional and international developments, the statement explained.
Italy's Palermo is hosting an international conference on Monday and Tuesday on the Libyan crisis, with participation of major Libyan parties as well as regional and international heads of state.
Despite a UN-sponsored peace agreement signed by the Libyan political parties in 2015, Libya remains politically divided between eastern and western governments, both competing for legitimacy.
