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Arab League chief calls for unified armed forces

Dubai - Mechanisms must form a unified armed force not for hostility but for defence

A unified Arab armed forces under the control of the Arab League is a must to defend the Arab countries from foreign intervention, a high-ranking official has said.
Addressing the opening session of the Arab Media Forum, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said that the organisation has no armed forces to defend the Arab countries from external intervention. "We must establish mechanisms to form a unified armed force not for hostility but for defence," he stated.
"For example, Iran had said that it is dominating the decision-making of four Arab countries and working on expanding to others. Turkey has deployed its military in Syria and Iraq, and such situations are unacceptable at all."
He added that the civil wars, which are currently destroying many of the Arab countries, have been created by foreign hands to serve certain purpose.
"Terrorism in the Arab world cannot be defeated by arms but only by education, knowledge and awareness," he said, adding that all the countries must take this route to protect its people from being recruited by the terrorist organisations. "A well-established economy and curbing of unemployment will play significant role in protecting youths from being a target of these deadly organisations.
"We as Arabs share one language and culture which unites us. We must all work under the Arab League to restore stability and peace in our countries," said the Egyptian diplomat, who has been working as the secretary-general of the organisation since 2016.
He urged all Arab countries to work together to prevent wars and the suffering of all Arabs.
The Arab League is now playing a significant role in preserving the unity of Arab countries by forming ministerial councils for every field which hold regular meetings to discuss issues pertaining to their fields.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the organisation will soon hold a meeting of its members to direct all governments to share their experience in fighting terrorism.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com