Libya’s two rival leaders hold first meeting in Abu Dhabi

Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar went back on his resolve not to meet his rival, Fayez Seraj, head of the UN-backed government Fayez Seraj, and sat down with him Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates. Regional and Western powers have been pushing the two to open and renegotiate the UN-mediated agreement that led to the creation of Seraj's Government of National Accord (GNA). The deal was an attempt to end Libya's turmoil since a NATO-led force toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Haftar is the dominant figure in eastern Libya, where local factions rejected the GNA, contributing to its failure to expand its power in Tripoli and beyond.