Western countries sow wars, confusion in Libya by donating arms: Council president

By Godfrey Olukya

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - The wars and confusion in Libya were brought about by Western countries which instead of donating items like books, computers and medicine to the country sent arms in large amounts, the president of the Afro Arab Youth Council said Wednesday.

Abdul Haddi Elhwegi, who hails from Libya, told Anadolu that the amount of guns in the country far exceeds its population.

“The problem in Libya is the big number of weapons in the country which are in the hands of groups and individuals .Our population is 7 million, but there are 21 million guns in the country. On average, every Libyan has three guns. They do not give us computers and books but only give us weapons,” he said.

Elhwegi called on all African youths to work for peace and development so that Africa becomes a great continent.

“In Africa, we have a lot of natural resources and a good climate. But instead of supporting us to develop, the donor countries have made us a marketplace for their weapons,” he said.

Elhwegi is among the international delegates that are in Uganda to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Afro Arab Youth Council. They visited Mpoma Girls Secondary School to show solidarity with African girls during International Women’s Day.

Other delegates who visited the girls school were Muslim youth leaders from Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Nigeria.

Led by the Secretary General of the Afro Arab Youth Council, Abbas Agaba, they planted trees at the school after delivering inspiring speeches to the students.