Security

KRG extends deadline for unlicensed weapons registration

Article 15 of the Arms Law, No. 2 of 2022, states: Anyone caught with an unlicensed weapon or ammunition shall be sentenced to one to three years in prison and a fine of two to five million Iraqi dinars—as well as having their weapon(s) seized.

Kurdistan 24 2023/07/12 17:00

A man inspects a firearm in one of the Kurdistan Region's firearm markets in Erbil, Aug. 17, 2014. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

Kurdistan Unlicensed weapon KRG Ministry of Interior Masrour Barzani Hemin Mirani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Interior has extended the deadline for registration of unlicensed weapons until July 21, 2023, according to a statement.

"This call may be the last warning to citizens to register their weapons by July 21; anyone seized with unregistered weapons after that date, according to Article 15 of the Weapons Law, will be sentenced,” Hemin Mirani, Director General of Diwan at the Ministry of Interior, announced on Wednesday.

“We have doubled the number of weapons registration centers, and now there are more than 90. Citizens can visit the nearest registration center to register their weapons. Registered weapons can be licensed or sold in official places,” Mirani added.

To reduce social violence, strengthen the role of the law, and protect the security of the Kurdistan Region, the KRG Ninth Cabinet has worked to register unlicensed weapons.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani last year ordered the closure of gun stores after the Region had witnessed several incidents involving deadly gun violence.

"We will not allow anyone to undermine public peace and security. Today, I have called on security services to close all weapon dealerships and seize all unlicensed weapons. I urge our citizens to join this national campaign and turn over unlicensed weapons to the [government]," he tweeted at the time.

According to Article 6 of the 1993 weapons ownership law, any person over 18 who is a permanent resident of the Kurdistan Region and has no criminal record or mental illness, can carry a weapon.

Under government supervision, every province and autonomous administration in the Kurdistan Region is required to monitor firearms and weapon repair centers. Through a digital system, the Ministry of Interior monitors all activities conducted in these centers, including gun sales and training.

Earlier in July, the Kurdistan Region’s security forces in Erbil raided an illegal gun-manufacturing site in the capital, seizing firearm parts, among other gun-related equipment. A number of suspects in connection with the “factory" were detained per an arrest warrant issued, Kurdistan 24 learned. Investigations into the site are still ongoing, as numerous spare parts for assault rifles, pistols, and firearms, including those for AR-15, and AK-47 rifles, were seized.