The United Arab Emirates' Federal National Council is discussing a reported increase in the number of sword and knife fights in the country at a session Tuesday.
Dubai council member Hamad Al Rahoomi raised the question to Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, according to The National .
“When a teenager goes to buy a sword, does no one ask what he wants to do with it?" Rahoomi asked. "What solutions could be provided, because most incidents are between young locals and they occur in residential areas."
There have been several incidents over the past two years of people being injured or killed in sword and knife fights in the UAE.
The Emirates are generally considered very safe – with a murder rate of 2.6 per 1,000 residents, less than one-third of the global average, according to the United Nations.