KRG authorities crack down on unlicensed firearm ownership

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A wide-range campaign to address unlicensed guns in the Kurdistan Region has started with stricter measures being implemented in license issuing.

"A campaign to crack down on unlicensed arms has intensely resumed," Bakhtiyar Baban, general manager of the Kurdistan Region Police, said on Tuesday.

Baban added they had launched similar campaigns previously but "due to the rise of some obstacles, the processes has become slowed."

Perpetrators’ unregistered pistols will be turned in to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) interior ministry, while heavier weapons will be given to the Ministry of Peshmerga.

Baban explained how they have toughened issuing licenses for would-be firearm owners.

"Sometimes we do not issue licenses even for people who are able to meet all the conditions and requirements,” he said

Unlicensed gun ownership is one of the main causes of murder in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Kurdistan Region’s Independent Body for Human Rights.

Since July, security forces in Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok have been stepping up their pursuit of wanted individuals and their efforts to take unlicensed weapons off the streets.

Around 3,150 gun owners in the Kurdistan Region have permits for their firearms, according to the interior ministry, which issues licenses in coordination with provincial authorities.

The resumption of cracking down on unlicensed guns came a few days after a fight broke out between two families at a wedding party killing two and wounding four others in Erbil.

The incident went viral on social media with many people blaming the KRG for failing to stand against those people who have a backing from certain figures and parties.

"You cannot disarm those who have powerful people behind them even if you crack down for a hundred years," Jwamer Aziz, wrote on Facebook.

Another piece of footage shows two people shooting another at a Sulaimani car auction who is believed to be an Arab who had allegedly killed someone in Kirkuk. It also went viral with people lashing out at the government and security agencies for failing to protect people. 

"Do not just confiscate the unlicensed guns; arrest those already holding them illegally and put them in jail for 10 years so it becomes a lesson for those wanting to carry guns and kill people whenever they are angry," Mohammed Salim, wrote on a post on Rudaw Kurdish.

There is no official data on the actual number of guns or how many people carry them, but the ministry acknowledges the vast majority of gun owners are breaking the law.

The Kurdistan Region’s legal system deals jail sentences of up to one year in prison in addition to heavy fines for unlicensed gun ownership.