Libyan amputees treated in Scotland to return home

LIBYAN MEN wounded during the civil unrest that engulfed the African nation last year are to return home after being receiving medical care in Scotland.

The men all required prosthetics treatment by the NHS at the West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre in Glasgow and are part of a group of 65 Libyans who are being cared for in the UK.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon met the nine war victims before their departure.

She said: “Scotland offers excellent specialised prosthetics care and it is right that we were able to offer this quality of care to others who urgently needed it.

“All of the patients suffered lower-limb amputations and one is a bilateral amputee, and they will be returning home to Libya having received the life-changing prostheses and support they required.”

Mostafa Benhalima was 18 when he was shot trying to tie a liberation flag to the roof of his house in Libyan capital Tripoli.

The third-year economics student said: “I am very grateful to the Scottish Government in facilitating my treatment in Scotland.

“I thought I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life but now I can walk again.

“I would like to thank Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish Government and the staff behind the scenes who facilitated this for me and my colleagues.

“I am looking forward to going back to Libya to finish my studies and to help in building a democratic country.”

The group will return to Libya over the next few weeks as their treatment comes to an end. All costs are being provided by the new Libyan authorities.