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Libya's SCS rejects Khaled Haftar's appointment of LNA chief of staff

TUNIS, Aug 21 (KUNA) -- The Supreme Council of State (SCS) of Libya protested at "the unilateral decision" of commander of the east-based Libyan National Army Gen. Khalifa Haftar to appoint his son Lt.-Gen. Khaled as LNA chief of staff.
SCS President Mohammad Takala has sent a letter to Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), to notify her that the appointment violated the Libyan Political Agreement.
The unilateral decision was made without knowledge or consultation with the SCS in a stark breach of the Agreement, which provides that appointments at senior-level positions in the military institution could be made only on basis of consensus with the SCC, the Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
The move risks undermining the constitutional legitimacy of the state's civilian system, deepening the political polarization, and aborting the chances of reunifying the country according to the roadmap of the Agreement inked in Skhirat, Morocco, on December 17, 2015, the statement cautioned.
On Monday, the Tobruk-based House of Representative convened a session to amend Act 1 (2015) on military appointments.
They named Khaled Haftar as LNA chief of staff and his brother Saddam as deputy commander in chief. (end) sbm.gb