KRG opens 48 new weapons registration centers to boost licensing
The 48 new centers across the Region will register "unlicensed weapons," the police statement read.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Interior has opened 48 new centers for gun owners to register their firearms in a bid to boost licensing before the government's late July deadline.
The Region's police forces, through 42 centers, were previously issuing permits for gun owners after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began to tighten regulations on firearms sale, possession, and handling aimed at tackling rising gun violence, per a statement from the General Directorate of Police in Kurdistan Region.
Gun owners can register their "unlicensed weapons" at the 48 new centers across the Region, the police statement read.
The Ministry has also called on citizens who own guns to register them "as soon as possible" free of charge before July 21 this year, otherwise, they would face legal consequences.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani last year ordered the closure of gun stores after the Region had witnessed a number of incidences 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 of mental illness can carry a weapon.
The Region's security forces regularly announce the confiscation of unlicensed weapons.
