PM Barzani orders closure of gun markets, confiscation of unlicensed guns

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday ordered the shutting down of all markets selling firearms as well as the confiscation of unlicensed weapons, as the Region is currently experiencing a surge in weapon-related crimes.

Prime Minister Barzani tasked the interior ministry with carrying out the strictest gun control measure yet, to ensure an end to the threat posed by weapons to people’s lives. 

“We will not sacrifice the security of our people and country to evildoers, smugglers and opportunists,” read a statement from PM Barzani on Thursday, adding that he calls “on the people of Kurdistan [Region], hand over unlicensed weapons to the government and participate in the process of cleaning Kurdistan [Region] of unlicensed weapons.”

The decision from the Kurdish premier came hours after a brother allegedly killed his 18-year-old sister and her 21-year-old husband in Erbil on Thursday, only days after two university academics were killed by a former student on Tuesday also in the Kurdish capital.

Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Interior Minister Reber Ahmed announced later in the day that the process to shut down the gun markets, both licensed and unlicensed, has begun and they have already managed to close a great number of such venues across the Region’s provinces, without specifying the number. 

“Fortunately, in a very short time, a majority of the provinces and autonomous administrations have abided by the order. Before I came to this press conference I spoke to the governors, and now in Erbil, Sulaimani, Soran, and Duhok, the order has been carried out,” said Ahmed.
Ten people were arrested in Sulaimani on Wednesday on charges of shooting and fighting, leading to the confiscation of a gun and an AK-47 that were in the possession of the suspects.

Ahmed stated that the markets will remain closed until the implementation of the Region’s digitalized weapon registry, adding that going forward, obtaining weapons will only be authorized through a license request from the interior ministry, and the applicant must be admitted into the ministry’s biometric system.

“Once we heard the decision from the prime minister, we immediately obliged and we support the government investigating,” Hadi Khailani, a gun seller in Erbil told Rudaw’s Bilind T. Abdullah on Thursday, urging the government “not to prohibit gun markets, but rather reopen them with licenses and strict security guidelines.”

As part of the measure, the minister also mentioned that security forces have been alerted that all citizens, regardless of their political or governmental positions, are prohibited from using police sirens and from adjusting their number plates or the color of their vehicles, adding that such instances will be met with arrests and fines.

As for the status of the Region’s armed forces, Ahmed stated that they are working towards allocating a storage center for Peshmerga and local security forces (Asayish) to hand over their weapons once they finish their shifts, instead of taking them home.

Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw announced that starting from Thursday, checkpoints will be set up near places suspected of selling firearms and a campaign to seize unlicensed weapons will also be launched.

Weapon-related crimes are on the rise in the Kurdistan Region where firearms, including sniper rifles and machine guns, are purchased on the black market.

An estimated 70 percent of people in the Kurdistan Region own weapons.

Previous pledges by the Region’s authorities to tighten gun control laws have failed to materialize. The Region’s parliament last year said it was considering a new law that will impose tighter regulations for obtaining gun licenses to bring gun violence under control.

Erbil saw 79 murders and 28 shooting incidents in the past year, according to data from the city’s police.