PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe says Africa should move in quickly to protect Libya’s territorial integrity and stop interference by outsiders who are arming the rebels in Libya in order to get access to that country’s oil.

He was speaking at the African Union Peace and Security Council meeting at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The president called for an urgent setting up of an AU fact-finding mission in Libya to ascertain the situation and pave way for African intervention in the resolution of the crisis.

He also urged Libya and the African Continent to take the Libyan problem as an African issue that should get its solutions from the continent and not from Europe and America and expressed deep concern over the crisis in Libya which it said "poses a serious threat to the peace and security in the country and in the region as a whole".He said failure to act in Egypt and Tunisia by the Africans was a big failure for the continent which allowed external forces to interfere in the internal matters of Africa.


President Mugabe added that the arming of the rebels in Libya by the Americans and other foreign western powers, is a direct attack on African sovereignty and a clear demonstration of foreign interference. He also urged Africa to demonstrate its capacity to intervene meaningfully in quelling the rebellion in Libya. It was also pointed out that there is need for African regional groups to initiate debate on the need to institute reforms in the areas of human rights and democracy for Libya and the entire Magreb Region to ensure that it aligns itself with the rest of the African Continent. President Mugabe said despite the short-comings in Libya’s systems, it should not be an excuse for interference by external forces. He said the "African Union took note of Libya's willingness to engage in the path of political reforms".

Several African leaders including South African President, Jacob Zuma and Idris Derby of Chad expressed concern on the ripple effects of the destabilisation of African countries by foreigners and pledged to continue protecting Africa’s sovereignty. Ramadan Lamamra, the AU commissioner for peace and security, said at the conclusion of the PSC meeting: "The council reaffirms its firm commitment to the respect of the unity and territorial integrity of Libya, as well as its rejection of any form of foreign military intervention. Libya is a member of the African Union’s peace and security council and was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa.

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