Libya rivals agree to hold polls: UN

Military strongman Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army controls much of the country's east. [AFP]

The head of Libya's internationally recognised government and a rival military strongman have met and agreed to hold elections aimed at ending years of instability, the United Nations said Thursday.

Unity government leader Fayez al-Sarraj met Khalifa Haftar on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, where they agreed "on the need to end the transitional phase through general elections and on ways to preserve the stability of #Libya and unify its institutions," the UN's Libya mission UNSMIL tweeted.